Spencer hadn't a clue what to expect when it had been announced that Jennifer was to join the group.
He'd at first been nervous, he wasn't exactly opposed to change, but he'd grown comfortable with their group. Not to mention the fact that Jennifer was, by all means, popular. He wasn't one to judge a person by their social standing, or a book by its cover for that matter, but his past had shown him that popular girls were commonly not kind to him. They'd aid the pranks of the popular boys, and join in to humiliate him.
They'd had a lengthy discussion that night, and had proceeded to fill Jennifer in on what they knew. David, Derek, and Emily still seemed hesitant to reveal their information, but Aaron and Penelope seemed to give it up rather easily. It was odd, Penelope was always the most vocal about missing Jennifer, but it seemed the others were more quiet because they were hurt by it. Especially Emily, who he noticed kept casting looks her way. But then again, Spencer wasn't surprised. The action by the blonde had hurt everyone, and a sudden reappearance didn't make up for it.
Jennifer had seemed surprised with the accusation of Liam Lockwood, and had asked if it had anything to do with the fact that no one in the group liked him, which had earned her a rather unhappy response. Spencer had quietly explained to her what he'd noticed, still uncomfortable around the new addition. He often messed up first impressions, and when he found himself rambling on about poisoning statistics to the point where David lightly smacked his leg, he'd learned he'd once again made another bad one. But he didn't seem to learn, since he'd went on to talk about asthma statistics not even ten minutes later. Judging by the raised eyebrows and look of disbelief the blonde wore clued him in on that, although she had been informed of his intelligence, she might not have anticipated the extent of it.
They had told Jennifer how they had called themselves "The Misfits"...and after she had gotten done laughing, they told her their titles. She'd looked at them in disbelief for quite a bit, while David squeezed at the bridge of his nose with his index finger and thumb. It was weird how the idea of their "ranks" had grown to be so normal to them, but when an outsider heard it they just seemed like a bunch of nine year olds who started a club.
Jennifer had seemed a tad bit apprehensive about some of the things the group thought, and certain moves they planned to make. Such as, she didn't understand why if they thought Liam was the killer that they'd send Spencer to hang out with him. Derek seemed to feel validated, and smirked knowingly when she'd seemed horrified. Spencer had to wonder to himself if he seriously looked as helpless as a kitten.
They'd decided that Jennifer had connections that the rest of them didn't have. Such as the fact that she was more popular than all of them, and that she was in one of the sports teams where one of the victims was targeted. The connections were too important to lose, so they decided on a system similar to Spencer's. She sat with them at breakfast, and then hung around her regular friends for the rest of the day, and they could meet up at night if need be. They'd also decided that Jennifer would give her friends some story involving the fact that she "pitied" her old friends and decided to grace them with her presence for at least breakfast. Jennifer had seemed almost offended by that plan, and had informed them that the friends she had weren't that shallow...which had resulted in David, Derek, and Emily all laughing. Spencer had just sat and watched the scene politely, every time he opened his mouth it seemed like the wrong thing popped out of it.
Of course, that tended to be the story of his life.
~.~.~.~.~.~.~.
The days that had followed leading up to the homecoming dance had been...different. Partaking in breakfast with the rest of the group had become routine, and it wasn't as though Jennifer disrupted it, but she was a new addition that Spencer hadn't quite known how to handle. He'd been informed by the girl to just call her JJ. She wasn't unkind to Spencer, by any stretch of the imagination, if anything she usually just followed the same sarcastic teasing route the rest of the group seemed to follow. But he felt the cool gazes from the table filled with Jennifer's friends, and often found himself hanging his head as he attempted to ignore them. It was then he realized it had been awhile since he'd been looked at like that.
Penelope had done another search on Liam, but this one had been extensive. She had searched places that made Spencer scared that the police would be breaking down their dorm room door, and that they'd proceed to take them all away to jail as accomplices. Penelope was as unconcerned as ever, it sometimes frightened Spencer just how invincible she felt when it came to her computers. Sometimes he felt like Penelope sought the same comfort in her computers as he had in his statistics, in his books. Both of the things brought them a sense of security, comfort, and made them feel like experts in something. But of course, his hobby wasn't illegal. But he decided not to get into semantics.
When it came to Liam, though, they had found certain things of use. Some things weren't as impressive, such as the fact that he'd purchased books on poisons before he'd started the school year. Naturally, Aaron had been the one to point out that this was inconclusive, and not solid evidence. If they were to arrest anyone who did research on poisons, then most of the writing population, not to mention a fair amount of students, would be in a cell. But then, something incredible had happened. Penelope uncovered a Lockwood family secret. Liam had bragged before about the work his Uncle did, and all about how the man traveled around the world and did good for the less fortunate, such as work in Africa that concerned building orphanages, how he'd provide food for the starving, clean water, and such. As it turned out, the truth was a lot more juicy; considering his Uncle was serving time in prison for the first-degree attempted murder of his wife; Liam's Aunt.
After the shocked looks on everyone's faces slowly faded to more of just a relatively surprised, slack-jawed, eye bulged, expression, Aaron had pointed out the fact that the event still didn't prove that Liam was guilty. Emily had countered with the fact that the act could have inspired Liam, and Derek had shocked them all when he'd snapped at her that seeing people doing bad things doesn't make it your destiny to do the same. Considering the fact that Derek was strongly against Liam, the behavior seemed increasingly out of character. Emily had calmly attempted to explain to her angry friend that she never intended for her words to be interpreted that way, and that she merely meant that if he'd already been having thoughts, there was his inspiration.
Penelope had said she didn't see how that made sense, since Liam's Uncle had been sentenced three years prior. Jennifer had surprised them all by adding in the fact that it could have been planned for a long time, inspired by his Uncle's own act years prior. It wasn't like it was the easiest thing in the world to get your hands on a good supply of cyanide when the boy had only been fourteen at the time. They had all inquired of Penelope how exactly Liam's Uncle had attempted the murder.
He'd put ethylene glycol in her coffee.
He'd tried to poison her.
Even Aaron had to admit, that was something.
~.~.~.~.~.
The days seemed to pass by so quickly, but it still seemed like it took a million years at the same time. The hours seemed to tick away exceptionally slow, and Spencer often found himself glaring at the clock as he was stuck with Liam and his friends, and then yet, when it was all said and done, Spencer hadn't felt like there was nearly enough time.
Spencer had to wonder if Liam had picked up on the fact that he might know something. The boy barely spoke, and when he did? There was nothing of use to take away from it. It was insanely frustrating for the young genius. Liam had schooled his facial expression to blankness, and his eyes just seemed dead and void. There was no readable body language, and Spencer couldn't trigger a reaction out of him.
The days that led up to homecoming were filled with aggravation. Penelope had run a background check on the names that Derek had given her, but nothing of use was found. They all just had perfectly normal backgrounds, not a single offense on record.
"Did you do an extensive one?" Aaron asked, the morning of homecoming. The dining hall seemed especially loud, and talks of dresses and dates could be overheard from across the room. One guy in particular didn't seem to understand the fact that the whole dining hall was listening to him talk about how he'd been after this girl, who was his date, trying to get the nerve to ask her on a date for the past three years, and he'd finally succeeded. The date in question sat with her group of friends, mouth agape and eyes wide while her friends snickered. She looked oddly delighted, though, so it probably wasn't that big of a disaster.
"For the billionth time, yessir! The only thing I found out that was mildly interesting was that Finn Farley is finally getting his braces off. I'm so happy for him! He's had them on for like, well, I don't really know. He had them on when I met him-." Penelope's excited rant was cut off again by Derek.
"Why are we still wasting our time with this? Poisoning is even in Liam's family. He's the only one we have any stable motive behind," Derek reminded them. Obviously he had dropped any original reservations on the family relation argument.
"We can't have a one track mind," Aaron shot back at him, obviously just as frustrated as Derek. Deep blue streaks were painted underneath his eyes, the sign of the fact that Aaron slept just as terribly as the rest of them. No matter the cool and calm exterior, he was only human. Penelope had even offered him some concealer, which the boy promptly refused. His lips were set in a thin straight line, so pressed down on that they looked pure white.
"We're almost sure it's him, Aaron. We should be chasing that. Not having Penelope wasting her time hacking into God knows where," Derek said.
"Hey! Baby is handling herself just fine, thank you," Penelope reminded him, slightly indignant. "I could do this stuff in my sleep."
Jennifer shook her head, she seemed rather upbeat that morning, despite the fact she was obviously still exhausted, she looked at her friends fondly, it almost seemed as though she were reminiscing. Spencer watched her curiously, and wondered why on earth she'd ever give the group up. Even if it seemed as though she were trading up, there was no other group of friends in the world like them, he was pretty sure of it.
"Do you think whoever it is will try anything tonight?" David inquired. "I mean, welcoming day, football game, the only quiet one was the 'overdose'."
"Wouldn't four kids be a bit obvious?" Jennifer asked. "I mean, we've only been here a little over a month."
Spencer shook his head and played with the fork in his hand, once again not hungry. He remembered back to when he was a lot younger and he saw a magician do a trick with a spoon, he made it bend right in front of his eyes. He'd been so intrigued by the trick that it made him get into magic. Both of his parents had been surprised when they saw him practising it, and his Father had been rather opposed, but they'd both let it be. It made him happy.
"Strauss looks stressed to all hell," David observed. "But then again, what else is new?"
"You know, with the smeared makeup, bags under her eyes, and disheveled clothing, she almost looks human," Jennifer joked, but her voice edged on spiteful. Her blonde hair had been tugged back into a tight ponytail that almost seemed to be painful, each blonde strand seemed to be clinging to her scalp for dear life, pulled so tight the skin attempted to follow. With the hair removed from her face, the hollows of her cheeks were more prominent, it reflected how poorly she'd been eating. Spencer assumed that must be pretty bad for an athlete.
"Hey now, don't insult her, she's David's girlfriend," Derek quipped. David ignored him and continued to eat his food. "You gonna be saving a dance for her?"
"Really?" Jennifer asked in disbelief, her mouth slowly spread into a delighted grin of a friend who had just found out a juicy secret. "You and Strauss?"
"Yeah," Emily responded instead of David, who had looked annoyed enough to have a reply wrangled out of him. "Been that way for awhile. I guess you missed it."
Jennifer stilled, and the smile instantly vanished from her face. Spencer winced, Emily wasn't petty, it must have meant she was even more upset than she appeared. Emily was straightforward, and dealt with problems as they came. She was head on, and she didn't play games. Spencer liked that about her, he knew he'd always know where he stood, and if he didn't stand well? Then Emily would probably confront him so they could fix it up.
Derek sensed the dangerous detour of mood, and despite the fact he seemed to have his own reservations about Jennifer, he tried to lighten it a bit. "Yeah, this idiot has been trying to tell us that they're in love." Derek started to make kissy noises, and David glared at him.
"Oh leave him alone," Penelope said and leaned across the table to whack Derek in the arm playfully. "Let the boy have his dreams."
"I wouldn't say Strauss is a dream," Emily said. "She's more of a nightmare."
"She's the thing kids fear is going to grab their ankle when they get out of bed at night," Derek continued.
"Oh, trust me, I didn't plan to have her UNDER my bed..." David trailed off, and winked at him. Derek made a gagging noise, and Emily threw down her fork.
"I can no longer eat," she declared.
"Ah, now, you see, this boy talk? This I didn't miss," Jennifer joked, in good nature. Penelope laughed, and David just waved a hand dismissively at her. But Emily? Emily just seemed more annoyed.
"Oh yes. I'm sure you're talks of new shoes, cute boys, and trust funds was much more enlightening," Emily mocked her cooly.
Jennifer glared slightly, and bit her bottom lip before she replied, "That's not what we talked about."
"Really? My bad. Never been invited to the cool table," Emily continued to talk in a tone of mockery. "Of course, if I got the invite, I would have rejected it."
"A lot of the girls I hang around are athletes," Jennifer reminded her, voice tight.
"Some of them are. Others are the girls that pulled the stunt on Tracy two years ago." Jennifer flinched at the mention of the event, Spencer stared around the table in confusion. "Or did you forget that?"
"That isn't relevant," Aaron cut in before a true argument could be formed between the girls. "Can we please try to stay on topic?"
"Oh Aaron," Penelope begun sympathetically, and the boy groaned. "You really need a good night of sleep, you're on edge."
"There are people dying, Penelope," David reminded her. "We're all on edge. Some more literally than others. Spencer, you're going to tip off your seat."
Spencer blinked, the remark took a moment register with him. He finally realized that, while he got sucked into observing those around him, he'd somehow managed to scoot right towards the edge of where he sat, about to tumble off.
"Sorry," he mumbled his unnecessary apology with embarrassment as he rearranged himself.
"Kid didn't sleep well," Derek informed the table, Spencer glared at him in betrayal. "Was tossing and turning so much I couldn't even sleep."
"The beds here are awful," Jennifer said sympathetically. "You'd think with all the money they get that they'd put it to use."
"I'd much rather they use it to buy Mason a snow blower," Spencer replied. At the confused look he received from Jennifer, he rushed to explain, "He's the groundskeeper. They don't give him a snow blower."
Jennifer smiled at him kindly. "That's sweet, Spence."
Spencer blinked in surprise, and nearly dropped his fork. It wasn't nearly as startling as the nickname Derek had given to him, but still... "No one has ever called me that before," he blurted out.
Jennifer blinked in surprise. "Is it not okay?" She inquired.
"No! It's fine! I've just never heard it before. I like it!" Spencer rushed to assure her, a small smile formed on his face. Before he'd come to boarding school, he'd never had a nickname before. Well, not a kind one, anyway.
"Well, alright then, Spence," Jennifer said with another one of her kind smiles. Spencer smiled awkwardly, and bashfully, in return. He'd nearly missed Emily roll her eyes.
"So, what about tonight?" David directed it back to the original topic. "Do we think anything is going to happen."
"Well, how about this, instead of you spiking the punch, you watch over it instead?" Emily suggested sarcastically.
David grinned at her. "Can't I do both?" Emily groaned and banged her head up against her hand.
"We really need one of those dog training spray bottles for you," Penelope said with a grin. "I've always hated those. But for you? For you it just might work."
"So what? We're going to spray him every time he's a jerk?" Emily inquired. "He'll be soaking wet by the end of breakfast."
Spencer had expected for Aaron to cut in at any moment, and once again attempt to redirect their focus back to the problem at hand. But to Spencer's surprise, the boy stayed quiet. One look at him and it told Spencer why. Aaron had been casting a wanting stare across the dining hall at Haley. Spencer couldn't help the smirk that came over his face, if even he could spot the attraction, it must have been pretty obvious.
"Aw, isn't that cute." Apparently it was, since David seemed to take notice soon after Spencer had. Aaron blinked and refocused on the group he sat with, and then scowled as David's words finally registered. "Anyone ask Haley to go tonight?"
Aaron cleared his throat as he tried to piece together his dignity. "I don't know," he replied, he tried to keep as casual as humanly possible. The whole group smiled knowingly at him. "Probably."
"Awww," Jennifer crooned, Aaron glared at her. "It's so cute that you still like her." She smiled as though she knew something, and Aaron stared at her with confusion. "She doesn't have a date," she told him.
Aaron looked at her in shock, the rest of the group just continued to stare at him. He looked like a fish out of water, his mouth opening multiple times, his arms moved oddly as though he didn't quite know where to put them. "She doesn't?"
"She and her friends are going as a group," Jennifer explained, she wore a knowing smirk on her face. "But maybe if someone really cute asks her, she'd reconsider."
"...Are you two friends?" Aaron asked her, his voice shook a little bit. It was rather amusing, all of them were right about how head over heels Aaron was for Haley.
"We get along," Jennifer answered with a shrug. She poked at her food with disgust. "She's sweet. Working on the school production."
"Well, she has to be pretty amazing, she's able to distract Aaron from the mission at hand," Emily teased lightly. Aaron just continued to shift in discomfort, he cleared his throat every few seconds.
"51% of people said flattery is the best way to attract someone," Spencer advised him helpfully. Aaron actually seemed to pay attention to that, and nodded slightly.
"Yeah, but you also have to ask yourself if she is part of the 49% that doesn't think it is," David pointed out, fork pointed almost in an accusation in Spencer's direction.
"Don't overdo it with flattery," Jennifer told him. "Or you'll just seem creepy."
"I say wait until the dance tonight, man," Derek said to him. "Asking her now might make you seem like you're looking for a last minute date. Ask her for a dance tonight or something."
"The average amount of time to make a first impression on a woman is an hour," Spencer continued on with his facts. "53% of singles said they find a great smile the most attractive feature," he recalled.
"Heh, then you're screwed," David told Aaron. Penelope glared at him, and Derek laughed. Aaron just continued to shift around uncomfortably.
"Aww, don't say that," Penelope reprimanded David, and looked at Aaron sympathetically and kindly. "You have a great smile when you smile, Aaron. Just remember to do it a little bit more."
"But not too much," David cut in. "If you smile at everything she says you'll just look like a maniac."
"Can we please talk about the matter at hand?" Aaron squeaked out, his voice not his usual firmness. The whole table visibly had to withhold outbursts of laughter.
"Whoever is doing this knows the system well," Spencer was the first with the ability to speak, the others had their lips pursed together in an attempt to block out another burst of laughter as they looked at Aaron. "But a third public killing mirroring the first two? Even whoever is behind this has to know they're pushing it."
"Unless they're looking for a flashy exit," Emily countered. "Homecoming? Quite the way to go."
"But not the biggest," David reminded them. "If I was to get a flashy exit? I'd pick prom."
"Prom is quite a ways away," Derek said. His eyes still flashed over to Liam's table every once and awhile. "This guy has already killed three people."
"So what do we do tonight?" Emily asked, she looked utterly exhausted and done. Spencer couldn't blame her, it felt as though they were taking on the world. "Watch over the punch bowl and have eyes on Liam at all times?"
Aaron shrugged helplessly. "There's not much more we can do."
"We could still do the whole Emily is a ninja stalker thingy!" Penelope suggested, abnormally chipper to recommend such a mission.
Jennifer's eyes bulged, and she looked around the table in confusion. "What stalker thing?" She asked worriedly. She pointed at Spencer. "I thought he was following Liam around."
"We had a plan," Emily explained. "I was going to sneak around his room and search for evidence."
Jennifer raised an eyebrow at her, and then laughed a little bit. The whole table slightly glared at her as she brought a blue nail polished hand to her mouth to try to conceal it. "I'm sorry," she apologized. "But what would you be looking for? A bottle with a skull on the label? Even then, if you gave it to Strauss why should she believe you that it wasn't yours?"
"We'd work that part out when we came to it," Emily snapped at her, unamused. "Believe it or not but when bodies are dropping some people tend to get a bit desperate." She continued to glare at her, dark eyes narrowed. "It's almost twice as stupid to assume that we're just going to catch him pouring cyanide into someone's drink."
Jennifer opened and closed her mouth multiple times, pink lips ended up getting tugged in between pearly white teeth as she attempted to formulate a response. Penelope looked at Emily, Spencer would have assumed it to be in anger, but that hadn't seemed to be Penelope's style. She almost looked hurt.
"He won't be gone today," Spencer informed the group. "Scarlett signed them up to help decorate for homecoming."
"You didn't think to mention this before?" David asked him.
"I just found out yesterday," Spencer admitted sheepishly, he sometimes had felt like for a genius he was an absolute fool. He never seemed to mention the things that the group actually wanted to hear. He hated disappointing people, he felt as though he were meant to succeed at everything, and anything less was failure. "I...I guess it slipped my mind. There's been so much going on and it just didn't seem like a big deal at the time, and yesterday was just...weird for me, I don't know why! I'm really sorry! I was trying to figure out what to do about it, too. You have to put your names on those things to be able to help with it, and I hadn't known beforehand so I couldn't put my name down. It was really stupid! It just-."
"Spencer!" Aaron cut him off loudly, even some kids from other tables turned to look at them, mouths full. Aaron lowered his voice considerably once Spencer stopped his rant and had given him his attention, eyes still showed internal panic. "It's okay, no one is angry."
"Great, so he's helping set up homecoming," Emily groaned, she ran her hand through the top of her hair, it smoothed down some of the more rebellious strands. "This doesn't look good."
"Unless he does something to the entire punch bowl, I don't see what he could possibly do before homecoming starts," David reasoned with them.
"Are you on the homecoming committee?" Aaron inquired of Jennifer, since she was the one person he hadn't the knowledge of. She shook her head helplessly in the negative.
"I don't think he's going to poison everyone," Spencer said earnestly. "It wouldn't fit. Whoever this is has a bigger plan, poisoning everyone wouldn't add up with the other actions."
"We'll all just have to keep our eyes open," Aaron told them, he looked as helpless as the rest felt. "There's nothing else in our power to do."
"How are we handling homecoming anyway?" Jennifer inquired, she still poked at her untouched meal. It must have grown cold by that point. "Are we going in a group?"
Penelope whipped her head around, blonde locks nearly hit Emily right in her face. Penelope's mouth was opened in a surprise 'o', but they slowly formed into a hopeful smile. "We?" She inquired.
"Yeah," Jennifer said and looked around the table. "We're all going together, right?"
"You're coming with us?" David asked.
"Well, my so called friends originally planned to go in a group. But, as it turns out, the lure of handsome young men that offered themselves to them was just too much. So I'm the only one dateless," Jennifer explained.
"Ah," Emily said. "So we're plan B."
"No," Jennifer denied."Trust me, I'd much rather go with you guys. You're always much more fun at parties." She smirked at Aaron. "I mean, Aaron, you used to be the life of them."
"Can someone please explain to me what that means?" Spencer whined.
"Life of the party?" Derek asked.
"No! Why he used to be it!" Spencer pointed his thumb in Aaron's direction, lips pulled down into a pout.
"Never," Aaron told him firmly. Spencer made a little disappointed noise.
Jennifer smirked as she looked between them, Aaron had since looked away, and she then leaned across to Spencer and whispered, "I'll tell you later."
Spencer's surprise faded, and he just looked at her happily. His face split into a big grin, and she just continued to smile at him, and then winked as she leaned back. No one had noticed what she'd said to him, as they were all too busy teasing Aaron. Spencer hoped she hadn't just been playing him, and that she was honest about it.
Because the suspense was killing him.
~.~.~.~.~.~.~.
"Well, well, well," Mason laughed joyfully as Spencer approached him. His face wore a large grin, and he wiped his brow with his glove, which smeared dirt on his forehead. His eyes were large and delighted. "Has someone come to get their hands dirty?"
"I have no plans!" Spencer told him happily as he raced the rest of the way through the soaked grass to Mason. The grass splashed flecks of water and dirt on his pants, but he didn't care. He was going to get dirty anyway. "Not that you're my plan B, but what I mean is...well...I just...I'm happy to be out here!"
Mason laughed again, head thrown back, and shook his head as he looked up and into the clouds. The sun fought to cut through, its light dimmed temporarily. "I'm happy you're out here," he said to Spencer, and gave the wet grass beside him a pat. "Come join me as I attempt to save the garden."
"It's starting to get really cold," Spencer said sadly as he kneeled on the grass, the wet soaked through his pants. "Do you think they'll last much longer?"
"I'll fight to see that they do," Mason replied. "Ah, Spencer, without my gardens I'm sure to grow bored," Mason told him, voice filled with sorrow.
Spencer frowned, he put on the extra pair of gloves once Mason handed them to him. He smiled softly at the rough feel as he put them on his palms. "I can try to help with other things, too," he told Mason. "I just...I don't know if I'll be good at it."
"Ah, the main thing is that you don't give up on it," Mason advised him. "You can be terrible at something, but if you work for it? If you truly want it? You can grow to be incredible at it."
Spencer smiled fondly at him. "That's what I tried to tell Liam," he said.
"How have things been going with that young man?" Mason asked, his voice carried a note that showed Spencer that there was much more meaning to the question.
"Slow and steady," Spencer replied.
"Ah," Mason responded. "That does win the race."
"Yeah," Spencer said, he bit his lip and rolled some of the soil in the palm of the rough gloves. "I guess it does...hey, Mason?"
"Yes?"
"Does anything ever help you sleep?" Spencer inquired. At Mason's blank look, he went on to explain, "You said you have insomnia...and...well...lately I can't sleep. I can barely close my eyes."
"Your eidetic memory is quite the burden, is it not?" Mason asked him sympathetically. At Spencer's sad little nod, he sighed and removed his gloves, and proceeded put a coarse palm on the young boy's shoulder. "The day you're able to close your eyes and images of the past do not bombard your soul with untold horrors, is the day you should worry."
Spencer sniffled slightly, as his eyes started to grow as wet as the grass the leaked through the material of his khakis to touch the skin of his knees. He nodded his head in understanding, but it didn't help settle the emotions that twisted around inside of him. "But what if the horrors grow too much?"
Mason removed his hand from his shoulder, and briefly ran it over his face, the ridges scratched at it slightly. He then just let it drop to his side. "Spencer, I know what it is like to have emotions eat away at you. Tear at your soul. Make you feel as though you're drowning just beneath the surface as someone hugs at your ankles, making it so you just can't reach the air. I know. Believe me, I know. The day that grows too much? You find a way to handle it."
"Is this your way to handle it?" Spencer inquired. At Mason's perplexed expression, he elaborated, "The garden."
"Yes, Spencer," Mason answered. "The garden."
"Then it must be even sadder when the weather turns so cold," Spencer said.
"It is," Mason agreed sadly. "Indeed, Spencer, it is."
~.~.~.~.~.~.~.~.
"Do I look fabulous?" Penelope asked as she did a spin, the pink tutu of her homecoming dress fanned out with the air. She'd gotten the pink bedazzled one she'd tried on that day in the mall. Her hair was pulled up into a gorgeous updo, her glasses were large pink cat eyes, she had bedazzled heels, and her eye makeup sparkled. "Or do I look fabulous?" She asked as she stopped her spin on the toes of her heels, and struck a dramatic pose.
"Babygirl, if you looked any more beautiful they would have to make a religion to worship you," Derek told her as he stood up off his bed and walked over to kiss her brightly colored cheek.
"Mmm, my beautiful sweet treat," she purred and ran a well manicured hand down his face. "People should already bow down before me."
"With pleasure, mama," Derek purred back.
"Well, I'm going to be sick," Emily announced as she entered the room. David whistled low. She looked stunning. She was in the dress she'd picked out with Penelope, and had a silver necklace that hung on her neck, silver earrings, black kitten heels, and her hair was pulled back into a sleek ponytail.
"Oh, my dear Emily," Penelope said as she walked towards her, her heels clacked on the hardwood, and she reached to grab one of Emily's hand. "How are men not throwing themselves at our feet?"
"Because they know we'd walk all over them," Emily replied.
"It would be their honor," Penelope shot back, and they both laughed.
Spencer looked at Aaron, who had set beside him on Spencer's bed. They were both dressed up, and watched the scene. "I don't get it," Spencer said to him desperately.
Aaron looked at him, smirked, and gave him a pat on the back.
David opened the door when another knock sounded on it, and Jennifer entered. She smiled at everyone. She wore a sapphire dress that rest just above her knees. It poofed out just a little bit at the bottom, not quite as extreme as Penelope's own, and cinched in at the waist, there was a design on the back of it, a little bit of embellishment on the straps, and she wore shoes that glistened in the light. Her hair was pulled back still, and her makeup was done in a way that no longer made her look tired. She looked beautiful.
"Okay, we're officially going to ruin homecoming for every other girl there," Penelope stated as she looked at Jennifer.
"You two look amazing," Jennifer said as she walked forward and accepted a hug from Penelope. Emily just stared at her, and gave her a strained smile. At least it was an effort.
"Okay, ladies," Derek said, he smiled at the scene. "I'm afraid you won't be able to go to homecoming. There is way too much gorgeous between the three of you."
"The four of you aren't half bad," Penelope returned with another sly grin as she released Jennifer. She then looked at Spencer, and proceeded to look as though she just saw a cute little puppy. "Look at how cute Spencer looks!"
"Yeah, mama," Derek started as he looked at Spencer, who had groaned and hung his head. He'd gel'd back his hair, so it didn't fall in his face that time. "I'm sure that is just what the kid was going for."
"You look great, Spence," Jennifer assured him. Spencer raised his head hesitantly, and when he saw she wasn't mocking him, he beamed at her.
"Aww, he's going to have all the girls all over him by prom," David jokingly cooed. Spencer glared at him through the large lenses of his glasses.
"Don't sell the kid short, I say they'll be all over him by winter formal," Derek countered.
Spencer looked at Aaron in confusion. "I can't tell if they're mocking me or not."
"Just ignore them," Aaron advised him. "It always works for me."
Derek rolled his eyes and approached Spencer's bed, he stuck his hand out. "Come on, pretty boy, we have the great responsibility of escorting these gorgeous ladies to homecoming."
Spencer allowed himself to be tugged up by his wrist, and awkwardly stumbled to his feet like a newborn fawn. Derek stuck his hand out, and Spencer saw his life flash before his eyes as the man brought it towards his hair.
"NO!" He screeched and bat the hand away, hard. Derek looked at him in surprise, and Spencer glared at him. "It took me thirty-three minutes and twenty-four seconds to get my hair like this! You're not ruining it!"
Derek's hand was still frozen right above the slicked back strands over Spencer's hair, his body perfectly still, until a rumble was heard and he started to laugh heartily. He let his hand fall on Spencer's shoulder, and shook the boy lovingly. "Whatever, kid, let's get going."
~.~.~.~.~.~.~.
"I've never been to one of these," Spencer informed Emily as the group walked together into the gymnasium turned homecoming dance room. The lights were a little too dim, and they had this corny disco ball thing. "It's dark and loud."
"Not to mention crowded," Emily agreed, she had to talk loudly over the music. "I hate these things. Sweaty, loud, crowded, and the music always sucks."
"Way to stay optimistic, Em," Derek joked, and gave the brunette a pat on her exposed shoulder. "Unlike you, I love things like this."
"Well, getting hot, sweaty, and rubbing up against people you barely know is one of your favorite past-times," Emily pointed out dryly.
Derek grinned and winked. "Exactly."
Derek started to walk into the crowd of people, and Spencer whimpered anxiously as he looked up at Emily with large fearful eyes. "Are we all going to split up?" He inquired woefully.
Emily smiled softly at him. "No," she denied. "Derek's probably either going to grab some punch, or to go grind up against a girl for a few minutes. Don't worry, one of us will be with you at all times."
"Good," Spencer said with relief. "I don't do well with crowds of people."
"Yeah, I kind of predicted that," Emily replied. It wasn't said cruelly, in fact, it was said with a smile.
Penelope and Jennifer ran to dance, hand in hand, while Aaron and David reluctantly followed. "Shouldn't we all be searching for Liam?" Spencer asked, he leaned in closely to Emily so no one could overhear.
"They probably are keeping an eye out," Emily replied. She then placed a gentle hand on Spencer's bicep. "Come on." She nudged her head to the side. "Let's go find somewhere quiet for when they get tired of bumping and grinding."
"I thought people didn't even dance at these things," Spencer said as he followed her around. "I knew someone who said everyone just stands around and talks."
"Sadly our group of friends aren't that pleasant," Emily replied. They walked to a corner wall and stood there, they leaned against it and watched the scene unfold.
"Pretty lame, isn't it?" Emily asked. "I've always hated these things. But Penelope loves them, and she'd be heartbroken if I didn't come."
"It's not my type of thing," Spencer answered, he had to yell over the music. "You can barely talk in here!"
"I bet clubs are more fun than this," Emily told him. "At least at clubs you can drink!"
Spencer just shrugged, he was pretty certain he wouldn't like clubs all that much, either.
Spencer liked peace and quiet. He liked to sit and read a book, ponder his day, and enjoy the silence. He enjoyed the company he'd earned that year, but no matter what, he was pretty sure dances would never be his thing. The music gave him a migraine, the odd lighting added to it, and he was in formal wear with the room making him sweat. Not to mention the fact he hadn't a clue how to dance.
"Hey! Over there!" Emily whacked him in the arm and pointed across from them where Liam stood with Scarlett. Scarlett was in a red homecoming dress, and her fiery hair was pulled up highly, she watched the dance floor in disgust and whispered to Liam. "She is so pretentious."
Spencer looked at Emily with surprise. "Not very fond of her, myself."
"She's mean to everyone," Emily explained. She had leaned close to Spencer, even though she had to have been nearing certainty that they couldn't hear her from across the room with all the noise going on. "Don't trust her. Not even for a second."
"Did she do something to you?" Spencer inquired.
"They've done something to all of us," Emily replied cryptically.
They were both silent for a little while, even as the songs switched not a word was said. It wasn't uncomfortable for Spencer, not really. He simply was thankful for the fact that he wasn't left alone to stand in the corner of the crowded room.
When he looked back at Emily, he noticed she wasn't looking at Liam, but instead at the dance floor where Jennifer, Penelope, Aaron, David, and Derek were dancing. Penelope had probably forced them all to make this silly little circle, and they all danced rather ridiculous, but it looked fun. Emily seemed to be particularly observing Jennifer.
"Are you upset she came back?" Spencer inquired. Emily blinked in surprise and tore her eyes away from the scene to look at Spencer in confusion. "Jennifer," he explained.
Emily continued to look at Spencer in surprise, and then her eyes darted from the group dancing back to him. She looked as though she were contemplating her words thoroughly. Spencer just waited, he'd learned it was better not to force people to talk, they'd tell you things in their own time.
"More like I'm pissed she left in the first place," Emily replied honestly. "Don't you just love how she left and only comes back when she needs something?"
Spencer frowned, he could see why Emily viewed it that way. He hadn't been around when the whole group had been friends with her, so he hadn't a clue how the former interactions used to go. "I don't know why she'd ever stop hanging are you guys," Spencer told her. "You guys are great."
Emily laughed at that, and looked at Spencer, as though to see if he were kidding. "Well, I guess you're right," she agreed with amusement. "We are great." She lightly tapped his shoulder. "So are you."
Spencer looked at the ground, and kicked his feet against it slightly. He was pretty sure he would have heard a squeak if the music weren't so loud. "I don't think she would have come with you guys tonight if she didn't want to be friends."
Emily scoffed. "She came with us because she had no other option."
"She lied," Spencer informed her. Emily looked at him with confusion once more. "Only two of the girls she hangs around with have dates, the others are in a group. She could have gone with them, but she didn't want to."
Emily looked over at the group of Jennifer's friends. They weren't dancing, they were all standing in another corner, they whispered to each other fervently and looked at Jennifer.
"I don't think you're mad at her," Spencer explained softly. Emily stared at him, taken aback. Spencer always found it amusing how when she was surprised her mouth hung open slightly, and her eyes went wide. She always tried to appear stone-faced when faced with those situations, but she never quite succeeded. "I think you're hurt. But it's a lot easier to be angry than it is to be hurt."
"You speak with experience," Emily observed.
Spencer had felt surprised, he hadn't expected that as a response. Part of him knew it was almost deflection. Emily didn't want to talk about herself, so she moved the topic onto himself. But it hadn't thrown him off any less with that knowledge.
Spencer shrugged his shoulders, and glanced at the bright lights that had begun to strobe through the room. It hurt his vision, sent pangs that ripped through his head and made him dizzy. "Being angry doesn't make the pain go away. The more anger you build up, the more it rips you to shreds. The only way to get rid of your pain is to feel it."
"Or confront it," Emily added, her eyes still stared at Jennifer.
"Or confront it," Spencer confirmed. "You're not a petty person, Emily, and you're not mean or angry. Don't start acting like it."
"You've only known me for a month. How could you possibly know any of that is true?"
"Exactly. I've known you for only a month, and even I know this," Spencer said with a smile. Emily laughed. "You should talk to her."
"I'll think about," Emily assured him. "Hey, Spencer?" He hummed, though unsure if it could be heard. "You ever felt like you sometimes have to act like someone else just to deal?"
"Yes, but I can't," he replied. "I've tried before, but the only person I can truly be is myself."
"That's a good thing," Emily told him. He looked at her in confusion, and she explained, "You're a good guy. Don't ever try to be anyone else."
"I won't," he promised her softly. He felt a warmth spread through his middle. He'd never been well liked for being who he was. He was different. Talked too much at all the wrong times, and was quiet when something needed to be said. Spencer spent most of his young life feeling like a freak. To be told to be himself? It meant more to him than Emily would ever know.
"Good," Emily said. She looked around the room, her eyes drifted to Liam and then back to the dance floor. She laughed. "You know what? Screw it." Her warm palm gripped Spencer's own and she begun to drag him towards the dance floor. "We can see him from over here."
"What?! I don't know how to dance!" Spencer cried out, and put up feeble resistance.
"You'll learn," Emily answered as she tugged Spencer all the way over to their group of friends. They all made room, and Penelope cried out in delight. Derek grinned widely at Spencer and gave him a sympathetic pat on the back.
It was sweaty, loud, and people kept bumping into them. Spencer hadn't a clue how to dance, so he attempted to mirror some of what Derek did, and failed miserably. Penelope had observed his troubles, and found the solution was to dance as ridiculously as possible so Spencer didn't feel bad. She waved her arms like a maniac, and did some of the most ridiculous things Spencer had ever seen a human being do. To make matters worse? The whole group had followed suit, and they were automatically the most ludicrous group on the dance floor.
The worst part of it? He actually had fun.
~.~.~.~.~.~.~.~.~.
"So, Spencer," Derek tossed an arm around the smaller boy's shoulders. Sweat glistened on his skin, and his breath was slightly labored. "What do you think so far?"
"I'm sweaty and tired," Spencer whined.
"Ah yes," David chimed in, grin spread on his face. "I've felt that way many times before."
Penelope whacked him on the shoulder blade. "Don't be so pervy!"
"When does this thing end?" Spencer inquired. The one time he hadn't read up on a subject, and it had come back to bite him. He'd never been to a homecoming dance before, it seemed like it would be similar to lining a pig up to the slaughterhouse, nor had he ever danced with a group of people...or...well...danced ever.
"Not for a little while longer," Derek told him loudly over the music. Spencer whimpered, he knew he'd be near deaf the next day. "Relax, genius. We'll get some punch and chill for a bit."
"You so sure about the punch thing?" David asked, he eyed the bowl suspiciously.
"Man, there's no way he poisoned the whole punch bowl. Everyone would be dead by now," Derek replied. They all approached the bowl, and Jennifer was the first to pour herself a cup into one of the pathetic sized glasses that would take about ten to actually hydrate someone.
"Oh man, look at Katie, Derek," David told him and whacked the other boy in the arm as he pointed towards the dance floor. Everyone looked along with him, and Jennifer sat her cup down on the punch table for a minute to stare. Katie Stevens, the girl Derek had taken to homecoming sophomore year, was giving him the evil-eye as she grinded against one of the other football players. When she saw she'd gained Derek's attention, a pleased smirk spread on her lips, and she flipped her gaze away from him with a toss of the air, and continued to grind. Derek laughed.
"Man, chicks just don't let things go," Derek said as he laughed.
"Well you did have sex with her and break up with her a month later," Emily reminded him. He looked at her in surprise for her remark. "Kind of ashamed to even know you for that one."
"It wasn't anything serious! It was casual," Derek justified as he continued to watch the brunnette dance with her more than accommodating partner. "But I obviously left an impression."
"Yeah, you left an impression all right; right on her neck, you jerk," David reminded him. Derek laughed and shook his head.
"Oh, that was awful," Penelope said sympathetically, as she also watched Katie. "She was forced to remove that scarf in the middle of class." She whacked Derek on the chest. "I thought you more of a gentleman."
"Babygirl, I am," he assured her. "She bit first!"
"I really don't need to know the details of this," Emily said, both hands held up, she looked as though the most sickening imagery possible had been shoved in her mind.
Jennifer rolled her eyes and turned back around, she reached for her cup.
"Hey, was anyone watching that?" Aaron asked her loudly, above the music. She frowned at him and shook her head.
"I only left it for a second-." Jennifer looked down at her glass, and her whole being froze as a hand shot up to cover her mouth. The whole group looked at her in concern, as her hand begun to tremor. Aaron was the first to act and shot forward before Jennifer's glass could slip from her slackened grip.
They all leaned forward to see what it was, and all their eyes widened. For what floated at the top of the glass of punch was a skull with two crossbones on it. The symbol of toxicity.
"I-I don't understand," Penelope said. No one paid any attention to them. They all danced, listened to the music, made out with their dates. No one knew the danger that surrounded them. No one knew that someone in that room was a killer. No one knew how in danger they really were.
"I don't get it. Wh-Why would anyone...why would they leave that in my glass if they wanted me to drink it?" Jennifer stuttered out. Her voice was almost washed away by the upbeat party music that they room was saturated in.
"They didn't want you to drink it," Aaron said. Everyone focused on him, it was as though the rest of the room grew silent, the music was washed away, as were the people. They were the only ones in the room at that moment. "This wasn't a murder attempt. This was a warning," Aaron said.
There was a long pause, as the reality of the situation became apparent to all of them. Spencer felt as though time had stood still. Every noise was officially drowned out, except an insanely loud ringing in his ears.
That all went away when Aaron spoke,
"They know."