-yesterday-
"What do you mean, they've vanished?" Howard said, shocked. "And why are you so cool about this?"
"Cool? You think I'm cool about what's going on? One of my friends and my girlfriend are gone, Howard, and I have no idea where they are. I'm freaking out on the inside, but if I show it, I'm going to act without thinking and punch some heads in to get some answers and that will only get me in trouble."
"Well, why me? Why didn't you take this to the police?" Howard demanded, his confusion steadily rising.
"You mean Monte? He can't catch a cold. What makes you believe he could catch a kidnapper?"
"Still, why me? Why here?"
"Because I've got a lead." John said. "A lead that points to this area. You ever heard of a guy named Colt?"
000
-present day-
Howard stared blankly at Colt for the rest of first period after finishing his oral quiz. After class ended, Howard tapped Colt on the shoulder as he left class.
"Oh, hey, Big Eyes. What do you need?" Colt said, sounding a little more distant than normal.
"What do you know about the disappearance of Beth and Dinah?"
Colt didn't answer. He wasn't even looking at Howard anymore. Howard turned around to see what he was looking at and spotted Artemis, walking awkwardly down the hall as every passerby stared at her stomach.
"Colt!" Howard said, snapping his fingers in his face.
"What? What?" he asked.
"Beth and Dinah, what do you know about their disappearance?"
Colt paused again before answering.
"Not much… but I know too much to tell you in one breath. Meet me after school and bring John with you." Colt said, passing by Howard without another word.
"Wait, that's it? No conditions? No blackmail? None of that signature annoyance before agreeing?"
"I may be a bad person, but I know better than to get between a guy like John and his girl. Meet me at the park, right after school." Colt said without turning around.
As Howard stared after him, he was suddenly tackled and nearly thrown off his feet. Whipping around, he met Nicole's panting face.
"Howard! Please buy my cookies! Please, please, please!" she screamed.
"N-Nicole, what's going-"
"No, no! Howard! Buy my cookies! I'm lower in my sales!" Jessica also screeched, running up and flanking him from the rear. Howard was cornered on either side by two desperate, crazed cheerleaders.
"There's no way you could be lower in your sales than I am! I haven't sold a single box yet!" Nicole protested.
"Well, neither have I!"
"PLEASE, HOWARD!" both girls screamed.
Howard was deadlocked. Both girls seemed genuinely concerned about their sales, but it didn't seem very preferable being on EITHER of their bad sides. Plus, he only had money for one box!
'I could try bargaining… But that could only upset them more… Unless it's not the money they're after.'
"H-Hey, I only have the money for one box, so… Is it possible that I can buy both boxes-"
"Half-off? You got it! We don't care about money; it all goes to Taylor, anyway. We just need to sell these cookies! Thanks, Howard; you're awesome!" Nicole and Jessica said, taking the money and crushing Howard between their simultaneous hugs before running off.
Howard, panted and looked around at some of the odd stares he was receiving. Laughing awkwardly, Howard ran off to second period.
000
Zoe sat at the center table at lunch, laying her head on her still-full tub of CarbNUKEZ! boxes. As she wondered how she was going to start her sales, Zoe noticed that a couple of people were missing from the table.
"Where's Amanda?" she asked, looking around. "And for that matter, where's Hector?"
"She hasn't talked to me lately, and she's been constantly showing up late to cheer practice. Hector, too. I'm going to have to talk with them, because with it being so close to auditions, I can't accept this behavior." Taylor said. "But onto lighter topics. How many boxes have we all sold?"
Every told their sales number proudly, until I was reached.
"Uh… I haven't sold any, yet." I said shamefully.
"Tsk, tsk, Zoe. The deadline is tomorrow. I'd step up my game if I were you." Taylor said.
Zoe nodded, her eyebrows furling as she saw Amanda sulk toward the table and put her head down.
"Amanda, what is your problem lately?" Taylor said bluntly. "Is it something with Hector?"
Amanda raised her head to scowl at Taylor before dropping it to the table again.
"I've never seen you like this, Amanda. Is everything okay?" Zoe asked, placing a hand on her shoulder.
"No…" Amanda sniffled.
"Well, what's wrong? You can tell us. We're all friends here."
"I-I don't wanna…" Amanda pouted.
"We're never going to fix it if you don't tell us what's wrong." Zoe coaxed some more. This didn't seem to help, because Amanda turned her glare on her.
"You don't get it. You CAN'T fix it."
Just a second after, the anger disappeared from Amanda's eyes and was replaced with sorry.
"I-I-I'm sorry, Zoe… I just… I think I need to be alone for a little bit."
And with that, Amanda took her lunch and walked toward the door.
"Wait! How many boxes have you sold? Ugh! What is her deal?"
"Maybe you should take it easy on her, Taylor; it looks like she's going through a rough time." Zoe said, watching Amanda as she left for the courtyard.
"I can't afford to 'take it easy' with the Cheer-athlon auditions being so close. Amanda's either going to have to drop whatever she's dealing with and shape up quick, or I'll be forced to drop HER from the squad."
"Wow, Taylor, you've been getting really mean over the past couple of months…" Rachel pointed out, adjusting her glasses nervously.
"Oh, really? How so?"
"Well…"
-flashback-
In the hall, two months ago, out of nowhere…
"Rachel, clean your specs! A hawk couldn't see out of those things!"
000
And at practice the week after that…
"Give me the phone, Maria! Since this is distracting you so much, you'll get it back next Friday."
000
Then a week after that, during before school…
"Ugh! Stick with your OLD hairstyle, Zoe! You look like Medusa with cheap lipstick!"
000
Two weeks ago…
"Ew, Jill! Don't talk to me until you've washed the mascot reek out of your pits!"
000
Then last week, while we were exercising in the weight room…
"Come on, you spindly losers! I want to see you doing some REAL work! You need all the muscle on your bones that you can GET, Nicole!"
000
And then just YESTERDAY…
"Jessica, deepen your voice! That high-pitched squeal is annoying!"
-end flashback-
"See what I mean? You've been kind of aggro lately, and we're all concerned."
"It's nothing personal, girls, and Keith. I just have the best interests in mind for our squad." Taylor explained.
"But it's not just our squad." Keith joined in. "You've been getting kind of vicious outside of the cheer squad, too. Just last Friday, you made Travis run away crying because he stepped on your shoe."
"He totally smudged my new Selena stilettos! Those cost me $270, and he didn't even apologize! What was I supposed to do, ignore it?"
"But-"
"Whatever, guys. You can say what you want about how I lead, but how I lead WORKS, and it's not changing anytime soon, so you might as well suck it up and SHAPE up."
On that note, Taylor stood and turned her nose up at her cheerleaders before walking away.
"I miss the old Taylor…" Nicole said with a sigh. "She used to be so nice, until Paula graduated and she became the new queen of the school."
"There's got to be something we can do to get Taylor to see that she's being too mean." Jessica said.
"We've also got to see what's wrong with Amanda. If we don't fix both of those problems soon, there's no way we're going to beat our FOUR competitors for the Cheer-athlon…" Maria said with a dire voice.
"Augh! The situation is as dreadful as German poetry! Stanza after stanza of tragic, tragic tales of woe, heartbreak, and alcohol! Line after line of blood-chilling betrayal! Lyric after lyric of-"
"Hey, Astrid, have you ever considered acting as a hobby?" Zoe interrupted.
The blonde Norwegian scowled at Zoe, before adopting a look of interest.
"Acting, you say? Please elaborate; my intrigue overtakes my disdain for your rudeness."
"There it is again. It's in the way you speak. You'd be perfect for theatre! Plus, your accent is so cute! I can't imagine anyone NOT wanting to hear you talk."
"You… You are right! Why have I not considered this before. My face and my voice are PERFECT for the stage! Oh, thank you, little Medusa child! You have steered me in a bright direction! -gasp!- Wait! Will this mean I'll have to quit cheerleading?"
Zoe's heart stopped. Everything around her froze.
'This could be my chance… If Astrid quits cheerleading to pursue acting, that will solve most of our problems… I'll be out of hot water with this cookie sale, we can start practicing early for the Cheer-athlon, and all that will be left would be to help Amanda feel better. Plus, she's CONSTANTLY getting under my skin with Howard, and her leaving will relieve some of that stress!
But what if I steer her wrong? Astrid kind of likes me now, and I don't want all that to blow up in my face if she bombs theatre and is forced to miss the Cheer-athlon all because of me… What do I do..?'
After a moment of thinking, Zoe came to a decision.
"No, Astrid. You don't have to ditch cheerleading if you don't want to. Even if theatre isn't what you thought it would be, at least you'll have something to fall back on."
"O, glorious day!" Astrid yelled out, standing and giving Zoe a quick kiss on both cheeks. "You have done me a great favor! I, as you Americans say, owe you one!"
Astrid threw the rest of her half-eaten lunch in the trash and ran toward the hallway that led to the auditorium.
"That was really decent of you, Zoe." Rachel said with an impressed smile. "And thanks for getting rid of her. I swear, I would've choked her if I had to listen to any more of that monologue."
"No problem. Now, I think I have an idea on how to handle Taylor's mean streak."
"Shoot. Any idea's a good idea at this point." Maria said.
"Alright, girls. Here's what I was thinking…"
000
On the far side of the cafeteria, after getting her lunch, which was a diet soda, a ham sandwich, and a salad, Artemis took a seat at an empty table and began eating in silence. Before long, Artemis saw a shadow appear over her lunch. She looked up to see Colt standing at her table, sitting down across from her.
"Hey. Artie, right?" he asked, scratching his head.
"It's Artemis… But Artie is good enough, I guess. So, what are you doing here?" Artemis suddenly demanded, frowning. "I don't need any more hovering guys feeling sorry for me."
"Well how upset would you feel if I told you I didn't feel sorry for you? That wouldn't make me come off as a decent person, would it?" Colt asked.
"Hm… When you put it that way…"
"And I promise I won't hover. Unless you want me to."
"Har har."
"So… Uh…" Colt stuttered.
"You want to know why I'm pregnant." Artemis guessed.
"…Kind of?"
"It's alright. I don't remember much. I just remember being out late at a party that I knew I shouldn't have been at. There was alcohol there, and some jerk helped me realize that I'm no good with alcohol. After two shots, I was dizzier than a spinning top in a tornado." Artemis said, her voice getting stronger and more casual as she talked to Colt. "After I left, I tried walking home, but I got stopped by… someone… I don't remember his name, and everything else afterwards is a bit hazy, but long story short, I think I was raped."
"Wow, that's awful…" Colt said. "Did you call the police?"
"You mean Officer Monte? Yeah, I went to him and reported the incident. He said he'd get back to me once he had a lead."
"Yeah, you're in for a bit of a wait. Monte can't even CATCH me, and sometimes he sees me in the act."
"You're a criminal?" Artemis asked.
"Amateur criminal. Petty criminal. 'Eh' criminal. Whatever you want to call it. Does that bother you?"
"Not really. Ironically, I'm kind of into the bad boy type." Artemis said with a smile.
Just then, the bell rang that ended lunch.
"Well, it was nice talking to you, Artie. Maybe I'll see you around." Colt said, standing and stuffing his face with the rest of his lunch before walking away. Artie carefully stood up and took one more bite of her salad and a last sip of her soda before throwing the food away and putting the soda in her backpack. With a sigh, she walked out of the lunchroom and toward her next class.
000
After school that day, Colt went to the park, waiting for Howard and John to show up. As he sat on the green, wooden bench, he noticed two people walking toward him in his peripheral vision. He turned and saw Howard and John.
"Ah, you came."
"Cut the small talk. What's your connection to my lead about Beth?" John said.
"Depends. What's your lead?" Colt asked.
John reached into his pocket and pulled out a pink, bejeweled cell phone.
"This is her phone. I found it in the grass outside the CSU gates. I looked through it and found that the last call was made to a number I didn't recognize. I had the number traced, and guess who it led to."
Before Colt could speak up, John grabbed his shirt and lifted him to his feet.
"I know that you know something about where Beth is, and you'd better tell me, or else I'll have to turn you into sidewalk graffiti. Understood?"
"Easy, John." Howard warned, positioning himself to hold him back if he had to.
"Calm down, stretch. I know exactly what you're talking about. Let me go and I'll give you every detail."
John let go of Colt and pushed him back onto the bench. "I'm all ears."
"Alright, two nights ago, I got a call from an odd number. I didn't know the caller, so I didn't answer, but I checked my voicemail afterwards and heard some interesting stuff."
Colt took out his phone and played back his most recent V.M.
*John! John, please pick up! I'm sorry I didn't call earlier! I'm being chased by… by… I don't know who it is, but he's really tall, really ugly, and REALLY scary! And he's fast, too! W-Wait! I see the CSU gates! I'm almost there! Y-Yes! I made it! I made- AAAAAAHHHH!
-thud!- -whistle-*
"She must have dialed the wrong number when she tried to call you. I'm assuming neither of us has a V.M. lead-in message?"
John shook his head.
"What was with that low whistle at the end, though? That didn't sound normal." Howard pointed out.
"You're right. I'll have to ask Spud to enhance this. We're making progress. Tall, ugly, and scary, huh?" John considered
"Well, that narrows it down to Ryan, Travis, and ALL of Wilson High." Colt said, rubbing the wrinkled collar of his shirt.
"But why would they want to take Beth, much less Dinah..? Anyway, thanks for the info, Colt." John said, walking back in the same direction he and Howard came from. Howard quickly tailed behind him. Colt watched them for a few more seconds before standing and walking in the opposite direction.
000
That night, Brendan sat in his home, watching TV and listening to the patter of rain outside. Occasionally, he would look at his phone and sigh.
'Dinah hasn't called since Saturday… I hope she's alright.' he thought as 'Desperate Midwives blasted away on the TV set.
All of a sudden, there was a frantic knock at the door. Brendan literally jumped off of the couch, falling face-first on the floor. He rushed over to the door to see who it was, and with a gasp, opened it.
"Dinah!" Brendan yelled as his girlfriend stumbled in, barely taking two steps before collapsing.
"B-Brendan… He-Help… H-Hurts…"
Dinah could barely get those words out before closing her eyes and drifting off into sleep as Brendan's garbled voice began to yell for his parents…
(A/N: Bum BUM! It's getting deep! Dinah's been found, Beth's left a cryptic message for John, and Zoe has a plan to whip Taylor into shape! I know, you're just aching for more, aren't you?
But before I start on the next chapter, I'd like to hear from some of you. What do you think of Artemis, and who do YOU think is responsible for this fiasco with Beth? I'm dying to hear what you guys think!
Until next time, this is your loyal author, SH10, begging for more hits! I only have twelve! Help this story survive! Review and motivate me to continue! Maybe advertise a little bit to bring attention to the underrated SHS section of the FF archive! I feel this could be a big part of FanFiction, but only YOU guys can make it happen! Let's start a REVOLUTION! W00T!
As I was saying before, this is your loyal author, SH10, signing out until next time! ^^)