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It was Monday again. The week seemed to have flown by and Amy was still flying high after how sweet Michael had been. She was feeling good and more confident about this thing with him. She was still sporting her bracelet that he'd made. She couldn't bring herself to take it off. She wanted to wear it until it fell off her wrist. Currently, everyone was in the library as Myrtle taught another history lesson. Since Amy had choked Jessica, she'd noticed how the girl's sister refused to even look her and Michaels way. She was glad she was keeping her distance but she started to feel somewhat bad about what she had done to Jessica. But then she'd think about it again and get annoyed. Even if Amy wasn't in this relationship with him, he'd told Jessica no plenty of times. She needed to fucking listen. It wasn't okay to treat anyone that way.
Amy was sat between Michael and Mallory on the floor. She was scribbling diligently in her notebook as she always did in these lessons. Absorbing every word Myrtle said. Michael was sitting close to her, head lay on her shoulder as he watched her writing. He seemed to have given up on taking notes in most classes. He told her once it was because she took such good notes that he could just use hers. Amy was so involved in her note-taking that she didn't notice Myrtle stop taking or how the class when silent.
"Amy, can I talk to you in my office?" Amy looked up at Cordelia in the doorway. She looked kind of sad as she gave her a smile but Amy's eyes were drawn to who was stood beside her. There were two police officers. One male and one female. She eyed them warily before looking back at Cordelia. Amy knew she hadn't done anything wrong. It had been years since she'd broken any kind of laws. It made a pit grow in her stomach.
"What's going on?" she asked carefully. Not moving from her spot on the floor. Michael had sat up straighter now but she didn't look at anyone but the three in the doorway. It was the female cop that spoke up.
"We'd just like a quick chat about your missing friend, Ryan Hartland," she smiled warmly. It felt like all the air left her lungs in a painful whoosh as her eyes widened.
"Ryans missing?" she whispered, throat dry and eyes stinging. She hadn't even spoken to him in so long and it hadn't even occurred to her at that moment. It only made the pain in her chest increase.
"Let's continue this in my office," Cordelia said softly, giving her a reassuring smile. It didn't reassure her though. She felt like she couldn't breathe. All eyes were on her but she didn't look at anyone as she hopped up and followed them out of the library. Not seeing Michael sat there tense with wide eyes looking almost panicked.
When they got to the office, Cordelia had promptly told the cops that she would be staying in the office and Amy was grateful. Her hands were trembling as she tried to take in the fact that one of her closest friends was missing. They were all sat down and Cordelia was by her side, holding her hand soothingly.
"Can you tell us the last time you saw Ryan please, Ms Fletcher?" the woman cop asked softly. She furrowed her brow as she tried to think. It had been way longer than she would have liked and it made her feel like the shittiest friend in the world. She had been so absorbed in this with Michael that she hadn't even spoken to him.
"Around a month I think. It's been a while," she admitted with a shaky voice. She felt Cordelia squeeze her hand.
"And when was the last time you spoke to him?" the man piped up. She shifted in her seat and looked from one to the other.
"It's been a couple of weeks. I think it was around the 16th," she muttered. She noticed how the cops glanced to one another with a strange look on their faces and it made her feel tense.
"The 16th?" the woman asked. Amy nodded her head jerkily and took out her phone from her pocket.
"I can show you if you want?" she offered. Feeling like she needed to show proof or something. The woman held her hand out and then Amy watched as they looked at her texts.
"You were meeting him for sex?" the woman asked carefully. Amy nodded as her cheeks flushed.
"Did you meet with him that night?" the man asked with a harsh edge to his tone.
"No," she replied. They were making her feel like she'd done something wrong when she hadn't.
"What's this about?" Cordelia asked firmly, her eyes flashing with anger at how they were treating her.
"The last time he was seen was leaving his house on the night of the 16th," the man replied. Amy frowned. She hadn't met with him. She wondered if maybe he had decided to hook up with someone else since she just didn't turn up, but still, it was strange.
"What's the nature of your relationship with Ryan? Was it just sexual?" the woman asked softly. Amy nodded and chewed her lower lip.
"We had a sort of… arrangement. Friends with benefits," she replied quietly.
"And why didn't you meet with him?" the man asked her.
"I uh… I met someone else. We'd been hooking up and I hadn't seen Ryan. That night I was going to see him but the boy, Michael, he got upset. He admitted he felt something for me and I decided to stay here with him," she explained. She saw Cordelia glance to her out of the corner of her eye like the news shocked her. She guessed the gossip hadn't travelled to her yet that she and Michael were a thing.
"So you were having sex with two guys at the same time?" the man asked dryly. Cordelia stilled beside her and Amy squinted. Monogamy was never her thing, but despite what the man thought, she hadn't slept with them both. She hadn't touched Ryan since she and Michael started this thing.
"Sex is hardly a crime, officer," Cordelia bit out. Amy was glad she was here. The man rolled his eyes and the woman cop gave him a firm look.
"Can anyone corroborate your whereabouts that night?" the woman asked. Her tone was softer than the man's.
"I was here with Michael the whole night," she replied.
"Doing what?" the man asked with a dirty look. What was this guy's deal? She had just found out her childhood friend was missing and he was being a dick.
"Sleeping," she replied tensely.
"And the boy, Michael? He was sleeping? You didn't notice him leave at any point?" he asked carefully. Amy's eyes widened wondering just what he was trying to insinuate.
"No. He was there when I went to sleep and there when I woke up," she said firmly. Michael had changed. He wouldn't do anything like that.
"They were both here. There's always someone up here and no one saw them leave," Cordelia said with an edge to her tone. She didn't take kindly to people coming here and talking to her girls… or boy, like that.
"We need to make sure. Jealousy can be a big motivator in crime. We'll need to speak to him ourselves," the man replied looking like he didn't believe them. Amy didn't mean to but she scoffed at him. Michael had done a lot of things. Some of them heinous and she saw them in the shared dreams. But he was different now. He was good. She wasn't going to let this asshole demonise him. She looked to Cordelia then and she gave her a look. She knew what it meant without words. She would sit in here with his interview too. Amy was grateful. The boy had anxiety issues and he didn't like new people. Especially if they were going to try and poke the bear.
"Have you tried to see if he met up with someone else?" Amy asked, looking at the woman since she seemed to not be an asshole.
"We couldn't find anything. He left that night without a word to his roommate. He didn't come home. We can't locate his phone. It's like he vanished off the earth altogether. No one has seen or heard from him. Our biggest concern now is how long he's been missing," the woman replied carefully.
"What do you mean?" Amy asked with a shaky voice.
"When someone's missing this long it usually means they've either ran away or that something happened to them," the man said emotionlessly.
She felt like she'd been punched in the gut.
"He wouldn't run away. He'd never do that to his parents," she muttered feeling light-headed. The woman scribbled something in her pad and Amy wondered if that bit of information was useful to them.
"He had to have met someone. Maybe he met someone else since I didn't go. It wasn't like he didn't have the attention of girls," she frowned. She didn't know who would want to harm him. But one thing she was sure of, she knew deep in her gut he had not run away. She just knew.
"Thank you for your time, Ms Fletcher," the woman spoke. She nodded and stood with Cordelia and walked to the door.
"Can you ask Michael to come in here please?" Cordelia asked. Amy nodded before she walked out of the room.
She walked back to the library, seeing the class was still going on but people were murmuring and whispering among each other about the new gossip. She hated it. Her chest felt so painfully tight and she had no idea what was going on. She stood in the doorway and Michael saw her, looking at her with wide eyes. She gestured with her head and he stood up, ignoring everyone else as he left the room. They walked down the hall in a tense silence before she stopped and grabbed his wrist.
"Michael… they… they think I have something to do with it. They need to talk to you. Please, please don't fuck this up. If they think it's us then they won't find who's actually done it and I just…" she trailed off as a sob broke out of her mouth. The emotion of everything just pouring out of her as her brain finally digested the fact that something had happened to Ryan. His arms came around her and held her tightly.
"They're gonna piss you off. They pissed me off. They're trying to say we had something to do with it. Just… don't give them the satisfaction please," she sniffled softly.
She didn't see him glaring at the wall. He should have known this would come back to bite him in the ass. But her words were hurting him. She believed he was so good that he had nothing to do with it. Someone had suggested it and she didn't even think to put two and two together. She just trusted him that blindly. And he was a liar. He had lied to her and now he was terrified it would all come crumbling down around him.
"I'll be good, I promise," he muttered as he buried his nose in her hair. He was taking strength in her scent like he always did. He knew these assholes would make him mad, he was already mad at how they'd upset her so much. He was a good liar. He wouldn't mess this up. He had a way about him where he could manipulate most situations when he really tried.
She moved away and looked at him. She looked heartbroken. He didn't regret what he had done. That boy had been vermin and Michael was glad that he no longer roamed the earth. But seeing her so sad hurt him deeply. He leant down and kissed her lips softly before he made his way to Cordelia's office. Amy watched him go before going up to their room. She lay on her bed and sobbed. Maybe if she had met with him that night this wouldn't have happened. She knew he had to have met someone. He wouldn't have just left without a word to anyone. It made her feel sick, wondering where he was and what had happened to him. Did he suffer? The thought made bile rise in her throat as she curled up into a pitiful ball. She felt numb after she lay there for a while. Her brain turned to mush as she tried to deal with everything. She knew in her heart he was dead. They didn't need a body or proof. She just felt it in her bones. And the stupid detective downstairs seemed to think it was something to do with her and Michael. She'd watched enough crime shows to know that if they did that, the real murderer would get away. She needed to know what happened.
She wasn't sure how long had passed before Michael walked in. He looked at her curled up. Her cheeks still slightly damp but her eyes were wild and hurt. He closed their door and walked over to her bed, stroking her hair softly.
"Please don't be sad," he whispered quietly. It was killing him on the inside knowing he was responsible for this. She heaved a large sigh and sat up, running a hand through her hair.
"Can you find out who it was?" she asked out of the blue. His eyebrows furrowed as he looked at her confused. She pursed her lips in annoyance. Her nerves were frayed raw and her patience was wearing thin.
"Who killed him," she stated firmly. He clenched his jaw looking away from her as he tried to quell the panic that set deep in his bones.
"I thought they just said he's missing?" he asked, trying to sound innocent.
"For fuck sake Michael! He's not missing, he's dead! I'm not stupid! Can you find out who the fuck it was or not?!" she yelled, finally snapping.
Her chest was heaving and the guilt consumed her as his shiny shocked eyes turned to her then. His bottom lip trembled and the painful lump in her throat got bigger.
"Michael… fuck, I'm sorry," she thought she had no more tears left but clearly, she was wrong. The waterworks started all over again as she sobbed helplessly and all Michael could do was watch her. He hated seeing her so broken, but part of him was also starting to get annoyed by how upset she seemed about it all. How much she seemed to care. He was silent as he glared at the wall, not even moving to console her like he would usually. He was too busy shoving the beast back in its cage as it tried to claw its way out and scream at her what he'd done, wanting to hurt her even more for caring even an ounce for someone that wasn't him. She sniffled, wiping her eyes as she looked at him. Her heart sank with how cold he suddenly seemed and she figured it was how she spoke to him. She was never good at dealing with negative feelings like this.
"I just… I just thought maybe you could use your powers and find out what happened. You're stronger than any of us here. I know he didn't just run away Michael, I know him too well," she pleaded weakly. He inhaled a sharp breath through his nose, still trying to calm himself.
"I can't do something like that," he sighed, still unable to look at her. Partly due to how upset she was over something he had done and partly because it pissed him off too much to know she cared enough to be this upset in the first place. He probably could have done something like that, or at least tried. He was powerful after all. But he knew what happened to him. He knew who it was because he had been the one to torture him for hours until he finally killed him, only for the simple reason of he was bored and needed to get back to Amy before she knew he was gone. There was a tense silence in the air as he glared at the wall and she stared at him. Her brain was going a million miles a minute but then she scoffed. The noise made him look at her and she was giving him a harsh look that made his eyes narrow.
"You won't even try? Why?" she bit out. His nostrils flared, his hands clenching and unclenching by his side.
"Because I know I can't do it. It's a waste of time," he said flatly.
"Is that a joke? A waste of time? He's dead!" she bellowed incredulously. She didn't understand how he didn't seem to care, didn't seem to have any empathy for the pain she was in. He so badly wanted to say 'good'. That he wasn't a good person. To tell her all the bad things the asshole had said about her before he met his end. But he couldn't. He knew if she found out the truth then she would leave him, and he wouldn't let that happen. Nothing was going to take her away from him. He simply wouldn't allow it. As mad as he was that she cared about Ryan, it didn't change the fact he was in love with her and she belonged to him. It was the very reason he'd killed him in the first place.
"Please tell me this isn't due to jealousy," she muttered tensely. He bit the inside of his cheek knowing it was and also what he had done due to that jealousy. In that moment he hated how she seemed to be able to read him so well. Usually, he relished in it.
"I just don't see why you care so much," he replied coldly, unable to help himself. Her jaw dropped as she shook her head and hopped up off the bed.
"Wow. I do care about my friends Michael. I knew him since I was 7, we grew up together. And now he's dead and you're throwing a fucking tantrum about it because I care?" her eyes burned with their intensity and he looked away. When she worded it that way he knew how it must look to her. She didn't know that he was also panicking that she would find out and leave him. She didn't know how little that friend of hers actually thought of her and she couldn't know because she would find out what he had done if she did.
"We don't know he's dead," he protested weakly. The words felt dirty leaving his lips. Lying to her face like that. She lowered her head and took a shaky breath, sniffling again. When he looked up at her it made his heart hurt seeing her such a mess. He stood up and took her hand, surprised she didn't yank it away from him.
"Amy, please… I can't do it. I wouldn't even know how to try. We don't know what happened yet. There's a bunch of reasons why he might have ran off. The police haven't ruled it out," he implored, hoping that putting the seed of possibility in her head was enough to throw her off track about all of this.
"It just… it doesn't make sense Michael. He vanished the night I was supposed to meet him. It's too weird. If he was planning on running away he wouldn't have agreed to meet me," she frowned up at him with her shiny eyes. He was pleased her anger towards him seemed to have gone. His distraction was working.
"Maybe that's why he wanted to meet up with you. Maybe he wanted to see you once more before he left?" he shrugged, trying to sound casual and not like the thought of it made his blood run hot.
He pulled her to him, wrapping his arms around her. She burrowed into his chest and he felt content at that moment. He nuzzled her hair as she heaved a deep sigh against him. If she took a step back to really think about it, it wasn't impossible that he ran away. It was strange, the boy she knew wouldn't have done that. But she hadn't seen him in a while. She hadn't really spoken to him. She had no idea what was going on in his life. Like Michael said, there were numerous things that lead to teenagers running away. Her shoulders slumped, finally deciding to just let it go. She'd see if the police come up with anything. If he was dead, surely his body would turn up or some clues or something. There would be some hints as to what happened to him. There wasn't anything she could do about it. She just hoped he was okay. That he was out there somewhere starting a new life and that he was happy. She didn't deserve him as a friend. She'd been shitty and neglectful.
"I'm sorry for shouting at you," she whispered, still clinging onto him. He noticed right away how her anger had gone altogether and she seemed a little more composed, albeit tired. He suppressed the smirk that he had managed to convince her she wasn't right. He was very good at manipulating people, but he hated doing it to her usually. He hadn't ever done it to her. But right in that moment, he had to and surprisingly, he found himself not regretting it.
"It's okay. You were upset," he replied, stroking her hair affectionately. She moved away and he cupped her cheeks, his thumbs stroking her tears away. She gave him a small smile and he returned it.
"You're gonna get sick of me shouting at you at some point," she snorted, leaning into his touch. His brows furrowed then and he shook his head.
"I'd never get sick of you, no matter what you did," he muttered honestly. Her large eyes looked up at him, all shiny and bright. It always made him feel breathless.
An hour later saw Michael sat on the bed with her curled on her side, head in his lap. The laptop was in front of them as they watched a tv programme she liked. He forgot the name of it every time. It wasn't that good in his opinion. But he always watched it because she liked it. His hand was buried in her waves as he rubbed her scalp. She had a headache after everything that happened and he wanted to do something to help. She had calmed down a lot and it seemed his plan had worked. She wasn't upset anymore and she wasn't mad at him. Things were okay once again. They still had more classes that day but she hadn't felt like going and neither did he. They knew Cordelia would give them a free pass after everything that had happened so they decided to just hide away for the day. In the end, she fell asleep in his lap, and when she rolled over, he looked down at her beautiful face. He stroked her face with a featherlight touch, loving the way her skin was always so soft and made his body tingle all over. He blinked, his eyes turning black as coal for a brief second, before going back to his bright blue. He felt the rumble of a growl deep inside of him that felt like it resonated deep within his soul. He'd heard what the beast said loud and clear though. Mine.