"Everybody's going to die anyway. No matter if it's when you're 100, when you're 60, tomorrow, anytime. Your life is going to end. Everybody knows that. You know that, so why don't you end your life faster? That might be the same reason other people don't kill themselves before they're due to die. They know even though they're going to be gone, they can do something before going away. They can make a change" ~ Nico Di Angelo
"We know Mitchell's the next victim. Are we going to tell him that?" Nico asked.
"No!" Cat cried. "Dude, no! Do you want somebody to tell you things like 'oh yeah, you're going to die soon.' That's ridiculous! Would he even believe us? That's rude, Nico. Besides, the Shooter won't appreciate it and we might be the next victims instead of Mitchell. I think the Shooter's little stunt was a warning to tell us we should keep our mouths shut. We had nothing to do with the Shooting so I don't think he had a problem with us investigating. He just didn't want us to be a loudspeaker broadcasting information to everyone."
"We could be saving lives!" Nico protested. "You know those big boards people write what they want to do with their lives on them? Some people want to get married, some want ten kids, some want to go to outer space but like on every board, somebody wrote to save a life. Don't you want to save somebody's life? We could be saving Mitchell's if we tell him."
"Telling him wouldn't guarantee that he would still be alive. It might even bring the day he's suppose to die sooner." Cat argued. "We're not telling Mitchell under any circumstances. He might have a chance to stay alive if we don't. Think of it this way. If you knew you're going to die anyway, would you still follow onto the hope knowing you can be alive? No! You're going to die so why don't you just kill yourself sooner? There's no difference. Well, actually there might be less pain involved which would seem a better way to die."
"Everybody's going to die anyway. No matter if it's when you're 100, when you're 60, tomorrow, anytime. Your life is going to end. Everybody knows that. You know that, so why don't you end your life faster? That might be the same reason other people don't kill themselves before they're due to die. They know even though they're going to be gone, they can do something before going away. They can make a change. Maybe Mitchell would realize he better use his time here - which I'm afraid might not be long - to actually do something that would change this world." Nico said.
Cat pursed her lips. "Do you know Mitchell well?"
"No? To be fair, I don't really know everybody that much except for Percy. I'm not a people's person. Look, I don't even know people in our group very well."
"Exactly!" Cat smiled triumphantly. "So how do you know Mitchell would take the piece of news well? Sure, he know he's going to die but he probably expect that to be when he's over sixty. He probably wants to die of natural death. We're all just teenagers. Everybody expect us to live a long life. Nobody really wants to know that they might die the next second. A meteorite can crash onto earth and you're the victim. There can be a drunk driver and you're just crossing the road when it's green light but then you're dead because you can't see the car. You could be shot, poisoned, killed in all kinds of way. Nobody wants to know that, do they? Mitchell probably has some kind of a concept on this - that he can die any moment - but didn't really take it that seriously."
Nico sighed. "We're going nowhere, you know? I don't care what kind of shit you're going to say, but I'm telling Mitchell. He has the right to know."
"Information is power. You know that, Nico. What is he going to do after you tell him besides freaking out? Right, he's going to try to avoid it. He can't, he can't avoid something the Shooter wants to be done. Once he know, the Shooter would probably kill him in a more gruesome way than he would have giving that he holds information. And he's another scenario. What if he goes and tell the police? Hey, it isn't everybody you know that somebody wants to kill you and you have the vague idea of who that somebody is. The police will get involved and that's the last thing we want."
Nico shrugged. "He has the right to know. If you have cancer or something that can't be saved in any way and you're going to die in six months, the doctor would consult with your closed ones to discuss whether they should tell you or don't tell you at all so you can live your last months as a normal person. Would you want to know? Obviously, you would. It's your body, it's you. It's the same as you withholding information about Mitchell and he needs to know."
"Fine!" Cat threw her arms wide. "Whatever. You can tell him but I'm not responsible for the consequences. You know it's stupid yet you do it. What kind of idiot does that? Besides, it's not all about Mitchell. The world doesn't fucking revolve around should also care about other people and ourselves. The Shooter clearly told us not to go around giving people little hints and information but that's exactly what you're doing. He already fired bullets at us to keep our mouths quiet. What do you think he'll do next? It's not only to you, it's to me too since we sort of work together. It's not all about you either. You're so selfish."
Nico frowned. What? Why the hell is Cat making such a big fuss about everything? Women..they're so hard to decipher. One moment they can be perfectly tolerable but the next, they're going ballistic on you. However, nobody has ever called him selfish. Okay, he can be a teensy bit selfish. Maybe more than that but nobody says that to his face. "Okay. You know what? If I'm so selfish, we shouldn't work together anymore. I can't even stand being in the same room as a bitch, I'm definitely not going to work with one. You can take you and your ego out of my sight."
"Okay." Cat stomped out of the room. "Have a nice life, Di Angelo."
"We've been looking through Percy's dad's stuff for ages and really, we haven't found anything good." Piper complained. "What's the point of this anyway?"
Jason shrugged. "Trust me, I would love to know too."
"Do you want to stop searching for a while? Maybe head down to the beaches? The Malibu sunset is gorgeous. The sky is also very clear tonight. We can lay down on the boardwalk and watch the stars if you like. I know one which isn't far away and people won't mind if we just lay there for hours." Piper suggested not as subtlety as she hoped it'll be.
Jason frowned. "But we aren't suppose to leave this apartment. I don't think we can. That'll be like against the rules."
"There aren't any rules here." Piper told him. "Percy's dad can't control us or anything. Come on, it'll be fun."
"Risky."
"Dangerous." Piper's eyes gleamed. "But I like it. It'll be thrilling."
Jason's blue eyes met Piper's daring kaleidoscopic ones. He did wanted to go with Piper. He thought it'll be nice, the whole beach sunset and watching the stars but isn't that what couples do? They aren't even dating. Piper sort of had a boyfriend. Jason was afraid that he might attempt anything Piper find inappropriate as Sky already had her. He didn't want to mess things up. Besides, he wasn't so sure about disobeying Percy's dad. Sure, if what he said is law, they would have already broke it in numerous occasions but like always, he didn't feel comfortable doing something somebody specifically told him not to do. "I don't know if we should."
Piper grabbed his hands which made Jason's heart jump. "Please! I just want to get out of this place."
"Hey, how's Sky?" Jason asked quickly trying to take Piper's mind off it and for his own curiosity's sake.
Piper shrugged. "He's alright. He woke up. Unlike your coma, he remembered everything perfectly. He's trying to get used to walking and those daily activities with his injuries. He should be out of the hospital pretty soon."
"Did you see him when we were briefly in New York?"
"No." Piper shook her head. "He was still in coma."
"You guys dating?" Jason asked.
Piper bit her lips. "I'm not sure actually. He did ask me to go to the Valentine party together but I'm not sure if it's actually considered as a date. If we're still stuck here when he's recovered, he said he might come down to Cali to pay us a visit. Hey! Stop changing the subject, sparky. Do you want to go outside or not?"
"Percy's dad won't appreciate that." Jason protested. "It's not that bad here."
"Oh for god's sake. Do I have to use force to push you outside?"
"You can't. I'm stronger than you." Jason pointed out.
Piper cocked her eyebrow. "Really? Let's see if that's true."
"Come at me." Jason laughed. The idea of Piper pushing him out was funny, it was in his perspective anyway. Last time Piper tried pushing him to do something, that didn't work out well.
Piper pouted. "I'll ditch you here if you don't come."
"What's the deal with you and Jennings?" Mitchell's rubbed his eyes sleepily as a familiar domineering voice demanded.
"Drew?" Mitchell cried in shock. "What the hell? You're supposed to be dead! Is this real?"
"Oh joy." Drew yawned. "Can't the dead come back to pay a little visit to their dear step-brothers in their dreams? Psh, don't act so shock. It's not uncommon. Haven't you watched all those horror movies?"
"Those are movies and no.." Mitchell admitted quietly. "You know they creep me out and give me nightmares."
"So what's the deal with you and Jennings?" Drew repeated.
"What deal?" Mitchell frowned. "Drew, it's cool that you aren't exactly dead or whatever but please, get the fuck out of my dream."
"I hate living people like you. You think you can order somebody dead like me around just cos you're alive and I'm not. You think you're so powerful but really, you're not." Drew laughed.
"What are you talking about?" Mitchell pinched himself hoping that he'll wake up from his Drew nightmare. Sure, he guessed he felt sad that Drew's dead but it's simply not pleasant seeing she popping up in your dream.
"Whatever. So do you like Reyna?" Drew demanded.
"Woah!" Mitchell put his hands up defensively. "Who said there's something between us? Dude, no! She's just my friend!"
"Just my friend." Drew mimicked. "That's what they all say."
"She's my friend. I like her as a friend. What's wrong with that? There is something in the world that is called friends. You can have friends from the opposite gender and like them in a way that you don't want to date them. Surprise? What's up with you girls? You find love in everything."
"I'm a daughter of love." Drew snapped. "It's my nature."
"Technically, you can't be a daughter of love. Love isn't a women, it's not even a person. You can't be a daughter of a theme, it's like-"
"Shut up!' Drew cried. "You're impossible."
"Why are you in my dream?" Mitchell asked grumpily.
Drew smiled. "Maybe because you miss me so much you're now dreaming of me? I feel honored."
Mitchell glared at her. "Don't flatter yourself. If you're still alive, I would kill you again. I praise whoever that managed to kill you."
"I'm not flattering myself. It's the truth. You don't hate me like you pretend to. There's a reason you're curious to who killed me. You want to find that person." Drew smirked.
"Exactly. I want to throw them a party." Mitchell snorted. "They deserve it. The bitch is dead."
"Funny you said that." Drew dared him. "Go check my Facebook page when you wake up."
Mitchell frowned. "Why? Am I even friends with you?"
Drew shrugged. "Just do it. Quit whining. And hun, wear deodorant. Your stink waves travel to the land of dead."
"Now that you're gone, you can't force me into wearing those ugly shoes. You can't make me do anything and I'm not going to obey you."
Drew sighed. "Wait till you die. I won't make things pretty for you, you bastard."
Mitchell raised his eyebrows. "Don't worry. I'm planning on staying alive for quite a while."
For some reason, Drew found this funny and started to giggle. "Ah, the living. So stupid."
"Stupid?" Mitchell repeated indigently. "At least I'm smart enough to stay fucking alive!"
"Fun fact. I died because I'm too smart." Drew waved her hands.
"Nobody dies of that!" Mitchell stared at Drew. "You're flattering yourself again. And here's another fun fact for you. You just got another D on your report card. I don't think that's exactly the ingredients of being smart."
"Once, people thought Albert Einstein was stupid. Bill Gates dropped out of school. We're talking about the most intelligent people over here." Drew reminded him.
"Drew, you aren't like those people. You perfectly know that. You can't get a D and somehow become the world's smartest person or something." Mitchell shook his head.
Clarisse's hard eyes fell upon a hooded person. To be honest, she doesn't know who's hiding behind the mask but she knew that she wanted to see this person "So Chris.." Clarisse started.
"Yes." If Clarisse could see through the mask, she swore the stranger would be wearing an eerie smile. "I know about him. I know more about him than anybody would including himself. I can offer anything you want about him."
"Good." Clarisse breathed. She couldn't believe she's actually doing this. Putting her trust into a freaking stranger. That's what desperate people do, don't they? They would do anything to get what they want and Clarisse is desperate for the blood of Chris' killer. The Shooter deserves the worse punishment ever offered to somebody, even if it's absolutely inhumane. That's what the Shooter gets. That's what they get for shooting Clarisse's boyfriend. They will feel her wrath. Did they know how hard it was to get Chris to even notice her? It took days. It took even longer for them to become more than friends and for Chris to fall for her. It wasn't hard for Clarisse to like him. She never had a crush on any guys before. You can't have love in between your fights. Chris is different. He is just amazing and Clarisse couldn't get enough of him. Just like that, he's gone and after years, Clarisse still haven't forgotten about him. Who does the Shooter think they are? "What do I have to do for it?"
The stranger paced back and forth. "I actually have a few things in mind that would be perfect for you. I need somebody like you. Strong, fearless, willing to do anything. Perfect."
"So what is it?" Clarisse demanded.
"I'll let you know later." The stranger decided. "I'll tell you anything you want to know about Chris now and you'll pay me later."
"What if I don't want to do that thing you would make me do?" Clarisse challenged. "Tell me what I have to do first."
"I still don't know." The stranger admitted. "Alright, I'll make you a deal. If I spill whatever you want on Chris, you have to do be a favor but I'll have five of them for you to choose. I'll call you when the time is right. Don't worry, I'll make sure all of them are easy and simple. I'll make sure anybody can do it so you can definitely do them."
"Fair enough." Clarisse nodded. "Deal. So who killed Chris? Why did they kill Chris? Why not somebody else? Did Chris do anything to offend to shooter? Did the shooter just hate Chris or something? Is Chris alive or is he really dead? Did Chris know he was going to die? Was Chris-"
The stranger held his or hand up to pause Clarisse. "So many questions. They will all be answered in due time. You're rather curious, aren't you?" The stranger chuckled. "I like you. Maybe I'll give you some free pieces of information later."
Clarisse snarled. "You're stalling. Just tell me the goddamned information already!"
"Fine." The stranger snapped. "Okay. Here's something. The Shooter didn't kill Chris. Big surprise? I think so. You thought the Shooter killed him ever since he died."
Clarisse stared at the hooded figure trying to piece the puzzle pieces together. "So the Shooter..oh god."
"I thought that would be your reaction." The stranger smirked.
Clarisse's lips turned into a sneer. "Actually, that's not too surprising. Nothing like those big twists they have on TV shows. The police did mention that Chris might have died of shock. It isn't everyday somebody comes with a gun and all that kind of crap."
The stranger sighed. It's a loud one, evident to point out Clarisse was missing something. "Can't you see? Chris killed himself."
Clarisse frowned. "Impossible! Now you're telling me lies, aren't you punk? He would not kill himself. He's not even fucking suicidal! He is a perfectly normal, happy kid."
"He doesn't tell you everything." The stranger told her.
"He does! We tell each other everything. I know everything about him and vice versa. We don't hide anything from each other." Clarisse insisted. "Are you trying to tell me lies so I can do those favors for you?"
"He hides the worst part of his life from you. He doesn't want you to know. He doesn't want you involved in it. He didn't think you can handle it."
Clarisse laughed, it came out more nervous than it should be. "Handle it? What do you mean? I can handle everything! I can handle liars like you."
"Can you really? Can you, Clarisse?" The stranger questioned. "Nobody knows the answer better than you do."
Clarisse narrowed her eyes stubbornly. "Yeah, I can handle anything. I can take down anything I want."
"Chris loves you." The stranger said softly. "He didn't tell you the full truth to protect you because he loves you. He didn't want to tell you that he was going to kill himself because he knew you would be against you. You would do anything to prevent that from happening and during that moment, you would be blinded by your anger to make the right decision. Can't you see? Chris needs to kill himself. It's for him and for you. He loves you Clarisse.
"Lies!" Clarisse barked loudly. Even though she sounded tough, her face told the truth. Clarisse's face was white with shock, she was shuddering trying to convince herself that it wasn't true. She couldn't believe this stranger, could she? "And I don't see. Yeah, you know why? It's all bullshit! Get away from me you creep and don't expect anything from me!"
"We had a deal, remember? I told you about Chris. I swear, it's all the truth. You have to do something for me now."
"No." Clarisse shook her head. "I won't. I asked for the truth, not a bunch of crap."
"You know it's the truth." The stranger taunted. "Haven't you noticed the signs Chris tried sending you? His occasional reference to death, he did tell you he felt trapped once didn't he? You thought he was trying to scare you and played along."
"How did you know this?" Clarisse demanded. "And okay, if I believe you, tell me, what made Chris want to kill himself?"
"Pressure." The stranger said simply as if it explained everything. "You never hung around his friends. You didn't know. His friends have influenced him greatly. They're not like your friends. They aren't what society would call the good sort. They aren't the stereotypical 'friends' who shove drugs in front of your face and start taunting you and making you take them. They aren't the type who would backstab you. They aren't those type of bad. They aren't even really that bad. They just believe different things. They think that New York is too superfial which I might agree myself. They wanted to take down this fake society. They didn't want the top of this society to be a bunch of shallow, phony, pretty people who are all the same and would do anything to stay on top. They wanted a new world. They wanted to see some kind of change that they like. Many people agree with the whole New York being too fake and needed to change idea but none of them really had the courage to do it. What if they lost this war? The people on top would treat them worse and everything would backfire on them. Chris was one of the people who doubted it."
"Why didn't he tell me about it?" Clarisse asked. "I would have supported him and his friends. I hate people who say they're something but they're really not. What does this have to do with the Shooter anyway?"
"Nothing. Chris just saw it as a perfect chance to escape from his world. He didn't want to leave you but it was his only way. He didn't want to choose between you and his friends anymore. He probably would have chose you though since love conquers everything but he won't be able to face the shame knowing he let his friends down."
"I said I would have fully supported it!" Clarisse gritted her teeth in frustration. "Why? We could move to Antarctica or something where he wouldn't have face all that guilt crap!"
"His friends were also cowards. All their ways of creating the world they wanted was back-handed. They don't have the courage either to stand up without any shields protecting them. Chris knew you would hate them. You hate cowards. You would have fought without any kind of protection for something you believed you. If you met his friends, sooner or later, you guys would rip each other apart. Oh Clarisse, you go somewhere else to escape from your guilt. You can move to Pluto and you would still feel ashamed. Your guilt catches up to you no matter where you are."
Mitchell woke up with beads of sweat trailing down his neck. Did he really talked to Drew in his dream? Was he even crazy enough to dream of his dead step-sister? What the hell?
The first thing that caught his eye was his laptop. Didn't Drew said something about checking her Facebook page? He wasn't a big fan of doing what his step-sister order him to do but he felt like he should. Drew did die and it would be like some kind of a tribute. Even though he hated Drew, it is nice to do something for a dead person.
Mitchell turned on his laptop and went on Drew's Facebook page. He still couldn't believe he's actually doing this. Really? When Drew was still alive, he would have done anything to rebel Drew's orders. Maybe Drew's death did have an impact on him after all.
After scrolling past a few posts such as 'I wonder what she's doing in hell' or 'tbh Drew honey, you deserve a special place in hell', one of those posts that was against Drew caught Mitchell's eye.
Chelsea Tait:
'The bitch is dead.'
The bitch is dead. The words rang through Mitchell's head repetitively. Wasn't that what Mitchell said to Drew during his dream? Drew seem to have known Chelsea posted that on her wall. Why did Drew want him to check that? To show him that she is still up to date on everything even when she's dead.
Mitchell was lost in thoughts, he didn't even hear his father telling him to come down for breakfast. What could he do? Did Drew mean something? Was Drew just toying with him again to scare him? This was complicated. Without further ado, he took out his phone and called Reyna. It was Drew related and they are going to study this together.
AN: Sorry I haven't updated last week but I was super busy with history projects and science exams! Ugh, I'm like 500% done with school now. I just want to stay in my bed with my laptop and food aha. Also, sorry if I mislead you into thinking this is a Jasper story. I mean yes, this will be a Jasper story but it won't only focus on the relationship between Jason and Piper. There would be other elements woven into this and I am so sorry there isn't really any big Jasper things yet but I'm still trying to figure out where they would go. However, I do guarantee that this is a Jasper story. I just had to put Jason and Piper in the character slot things cos something has to be there ahaha :P
Ooh what are your favourite lines in this story? My friend's favourite line from this chapter was:
'Your guilt catches up to you no matter where you are' ~ The stranger
~Kisses, Emily