AN: I have been away and I'm very sorry I haven't uploaded (please don't kill me ) and have only just found Internet (oops) - anyhow, longer chapters to make up for it, right? Right? (Yay?) - Enjoy the extra long chapters! :)
Kim folded her arms across her chest, frowning at Alex's expression. "I was teasing her Alex, it didn't actually happen." Kim looked at him sternly as Echo nodded, feeling guilty for some reason as Alex merely raised an eyebrow.
"Really? That's odd. I could have sworn that several people were talking about how red Echo went in science..." Alex said sarcastically as he turned his attention to Kim, who was looking at Echo in surprise. Echo suddenly felt a wave of anger pass through her; she had just explained this to Lewis and Duncan and now Alex was judging her. Enough was enough.
"Alex, I already explained this to Lewis and Duncan, who also took it far too seriously for whatever reason. It's a rumour and it didn't happen!" She snapped, Chris looking taken back as Alex lost his serious face, Teep shuffling his feet awkwardly.
"Really? Why..." He began before savagely being cut off by Echo.
"I suggest you go and ask them what happened, seeing as you obviously don't want to listen to me." Echo turned on her heel as the lights turned red, stomping angrily across as Teep followed her, placing a hand hesitantly on her shoulder as they walked. Kim looked at Chris and Alex, motioning for them to stop as they made to follow her.
"You know, this obsession we all have with Rythian doesn't mean you have to jealous over Echo..." Kim commented kindly as Alex took out his phone, dialling Lewis and ignoring her. Kim smiled briefly at Chris, who returned it hesitantly before she ran across the road just as the light sequence changed, leaving Alex and Chris trapped on the other side as Alex put the phone to his ear.
Kim soon caught up with Teep, who was looking at Echo helplessly as she continued to rage.
"... I mean, Rythian mentioned he may like me and all, so I was kind of expecting something but that is so unfair that he didn't believe me!" Echo fumed, Teep looking despairingly as Kim as they entered the shop.
"So what did happen to cause these rumours...?" Kim asked as Echo paused for a minute, forgetting to be angry as she smiled unwillingly.
"Rythian was doing magic and pulling coins behind my ears..." She admitted sheepishly as Kim and Teep face palmed. "But I told everyone else that he was brushing powder out of my hair!" Echo said defensively as Kim rolled her eyes.
"Well, hopefully Lewis and the others will pass around the truth and disperse that nasty rumour" she said mockingly as Teep motioned for pen and paper, Echo pulling it out of her bag carefully before handing it to Teep. He motioned to his watch and held up two fingers, motioning for time, so Kim and Echo left him to buy some snacks for their free that afternoon. By the time they returned to Teep, who had just finished writing, they had dodged and hid from Alex and Chris twice, who had come into the store after them. Echo and Kim motioned to leave as they snuck out, leaving Chris and Alex.; Echo sighed in relief before accepting the pad of paper from Teep, which had a chunk of writing on it.
Firstly, I am seriously considering getting a chalk board and chalk because I can never say anything...
Kim looked up at Teep who stuck his tongue out at them as they continued to walk, reading as they headed back to the traffic lights.
... But anyway, I had an idea. Zoey said everyone was going to write down their favourite food or something and post it into Zoey's locker for the end of the day on Friday in two weeks, or some time soon, right? So if we could gather all the notes from Zoey somehow, we could compare the handwriting to the one that was addressed to Rythian.
Echo looked at Teep in wonder. "That is a fantastic idea!" she said approvingly as Teep motioned for the pen and paper once more, merely shaking his head when Kim questioned Teep putting it in his bag. Echo rolled her eyes.
"I might get Rythian to teach me sign language at this rate Teep, I'm starting to feel guilty..." Echo admitted as they reached the lights, already on red as they quickly crossed. As they reached the other side, a voice called to them.
"Echo! Kim, wait!" Alex's voice called behind them as Echo hissed under her breath.
"Ignore him." She said sulkily to the others as they continued walking slightly faster, Kim resisting the urge to turn around as Teep made a noise of disapproval. Echo turned to him, annoyed, as they entered the school grounds.
"I can be slightly sulky if I want to Teep! I can out-sulk Kim, and that's saying something" she said half jokingly as Teep did a mock face of shock, causing her to laugh. Kim thought for a moment before asking the question which had been on her mind since she read Teep's suggestion.
"The only problem is, how do we get into Zoey's locker, take the papers, compare the writing and put them back before she notices?" Kim said numbly as Teep and Echo looked downcast. They made their way into the common room, sitting down on the sofa as Echo breathed out heavily.
"We should let Rythian know we've come up with an idea; maybe he'll have a solution!" Echo volunteered as she reached into her pocket, taking out her phone. Kim frowned at her.
"Since when have you had Rythian's number?" She asked incredulously as Echo began to type quickly with flawless skill.
"Lewis gave it to me accidentally today when he gave me everyone's contact details..." Echo mumbled as she prepared to send, but stopped as Teep motioned frantically for her to stop.
"What, Teep?" Echo asked, stunned as Teep carefully took the phone from her, deleting he message. He then took out his own phone, comparing the details at the screen before nodding in satisfaction before showing Echo and Kim the two screens, which both read 'Rythian' but had different numbers.
Kim nodded approvingly against her will as Echo looked shocked. "But... Whose number is that then?" She asked as Teep scrolled through his contacts, comparing the numbers. He froze as he found a matching number, showing them the contact which read as "Lewis."
"Does that mean Lewis just entered his number twice under two names?" Kim asked as Teep checked before nodding. Echo looked devastated as Teep handed her back her phone.
"So I don't have Rythian's number?" She asked, slightly sadly as Teep and Kim laughed, Echo reluctantly joining in after a few moments. A beep went off as Teep and Echo looked at their phones, confused.
"Nope, that's me!" Kim said smugly as she opened her phone to read the message. She frowned slightly.
"Hm... Well, Alex apologises for being an ass and is messaging me to tell you this, seeing as he doesn't have your number..." Echo stuck her bottom lip out, still evidently sulking. Kim looked at her, smiling slightly as she continued to read "...also, if Echo isn't too mad at me, do you reckon she'd give me her number so I can text her sorry for myself?"
"Smooth, that. Too smooth." Echo commented as Kim grinned.
"It's what they're all like..." She admitted as Teep raised a thumb in agreement. Echo tutted.
"Well, you'd better tell Rythian then, Teep. Although how did you know it wasn't his number?" Echo asked as Kim looked at Echo mischievously.
"Rythian is a bit of a technophobe when it comes to numbers..." Kim giggled as Teep nodded seriously as he took out the notepad and pen from his bag, writing something down on it before handing it back to Echo.
I do not lie when I say this; it took two years of constant pestering for me to get his number, and the only reason he set up the group chat was because I convinced him via text when he was having his op. Only Zoey and I have his number from among everyone else and we have kept it private. You could probably convince him that you need to have it though in case of an emergency, although that is going to be a hilarious conversation...
.
.
.
ENDERMAGE: For the last time... Forget it Echo. It's not going to happen.
ECHOSOUNDS: But what if something terrible happens?! :(
ENDERMAGE: Then it happens and you don't have my number. End of.
NANOSOUNDS: I tried to convince him for months before the whole incident... :( You trying to convince him after a few weeks isn't going to happen.
DINORAWR: In case anyone didn't realise, I am feeling very smug right now.
ECHOSOUNDS: This is ridiculous... :( :( :(
Echo paused from her typing and pulled an unhappy face as Kim chuckled at her from across the room.
"Even before the whole incident, Rythian was a very private person" Kim commented as Echo looked up, interested.
"Really? I assumed he was best friends with everyone from the amount of fuss over everything." Echo said thoughtfully as Kim shook her head.
"No, Rythian would talk in lessons, but otherwise he'd keep to himself. He'd only ever really talked in much detail to Zoey and Teep, although he'd always listen if anyone ever wanted to talk about anything. That's why Ross was so surprised when you said you exchanged notes on your first day; Rythian isn't really the type."
Echo nodded before turning her attention to the screen, turning over this new piece of information in her head.
DINORAWR: To be fair, it's not like I text you a lot or anything Rythian...
ENDERMAGE: Yes, but we are talking about thing one and thing two here; they're going to text a lot.
NANOSOUNDS: Rude! :( Honestly though, we don't mind. We know you'll give it to us when you're ready. :)
ENDERMAGE: Thank you Kim. Now, is there a proper reason for why you dragged me online?
NANOSOUNDS: You didn't text him after what we said on Friday?!
DINORAWR: I might have forgotten... Sorry.
ENDERMAGE: Go on...?
ECHOSOUNDS: Lewis gave me everyone's contact number, including yours. Turns out it was Lewis's number; we narrowly avoided telling him the plan :O
ENDERMAGE: Ah, that's why you are mentioning phone numbers... So what was this plan?
ENDERMAGE: Again, this is a reason why I don't like texting people. Things can go wrong.
DINORAWR: ... Arguably if you had given your number to her in the first place it wouldn't have been a problem... Food for thought.
ECHOSOUNDS: Thanks Teep! :D
ENDERMAGE: Can someone explain what this plan is about? Seriously. (Also, not helping Teep!)
NANOSOUNDS: Zoey is holding a mushroom party; everyone is writing down their favourite food and posting it into her locker for this Friday or something...
ENDERMAGE: Have fun.
DINORAWR: Rythian, be nice.
ENDERMAGE: Sorry...
DINORAWR: Anyhow, we figured if we could grab the lists, we could compare the handwriting to the blackmail sent to you.
ENDERMAGE: That's a smart plan. Who thought of it?
NANOSOUNDS: Teep, of course.
ECHOSOUNDS: I also come up with good plans... :(
DINORAWR: ... But mine are better mwahaha.
ECHOSOUNDS: Grr. Keep talking guys, I'm just going to get a glass of water to cool me down after being so annoyed... Seriously though, I need a drink :)
DINORAWR: Okay!
Echo closed down her lid before getting up, checking if Kim wanted anything before she headed down to the kitchen. As she made her at back upstairs with her glass, she felt her phone buzz in her pocket. Reaching the bedroom, she set it down carefully before checking the message. She laughed slightly, causing Kim to look over.
"What's so funny?" She asked as Echo held up a finger, scanning the chat to briefly catch up.
NANOSOUNDS: So we just need a way into Zoey's locker, really.
ENDERMAGE: Getting into her locker is easy, I know how to crack open locks. It's providing the three distractions that is going to be difficult.
DINORAWR: Explain? Why three?
ENDERMAGE: 1) Distraction so no one is around Zoey's locker who knows it's hers when we steal the sheets. 2) Distracting Zoey whilst someone takes pictures. 3) Distracting Zoey again to put them back.
NANOSOUNDS: We can discuss this in English in more detail but I propose that Teep distracts Zoey; you can sign really slowly, or show her something.
DINORAWR: Wow, thanks.
NANOSOUNDS: I think maybe me and Echo should distract the others... But Echo is in a lesson and that leaves Rythian to steal from the lockers and take the pictures, and you're not the best with a mobile.
ENDERMAGE: True... I steal, someone else takes pictures? I don't think I even know how to.
ECHOSOUNDS: I volunteer to take pictures! Also, I've just got a text from a "Rythian" saying "Hi" ... I'm willing to take suggestions to totally troll Lewis. :P
DINORAWR: Wait, he's seriously just texted pretending to be Rythian? That was fast, it's only been a few days...
ENDERMAGE: Just say "Hi Lewis" or something, pretend it came up with his name.
ECHOSOUNDS: ... I put "Hi Lewis! U checkin ur no. works? :P"
ENDERMAGE: You text language is awful.
ECHOSOUNDS: Thx bbs ;P
DINORAWR: Alright, I distract Zoey, Kim distracts the others, Rythian and Echo take, copy and replace the notes. Sounds easy enough.
NANOSOUNDS: You say that, but I have to distract several people at once! What happens if one of them sneaks off? :/ I won't be able to go after them!
ENDERMAGE: Just text Echo and we'll either hurry up or hide with the papers. So long as Teep is distracting Zoey, it shouldn't matter if anyone sees us near her locker; we could just be talking.
ECHOSOUNDS: Oooh. Lewis replied "How did you know it was me?" Idiot. :D
DINORAWR: Say that his name appeared when he texted you. It will confuse him, and if he managed to ask somehow about Rythian's no., just say you deleted it because you didn't need it.
ECHOSOUNDS: Alright... Done! :P you really do have the best ideas Teep! :)
NANOSOUNDS: So is everyone sorted? Nothing else to say?
ECHOSOUNDS: Well, apart from me going mental at Alex haha... But that's not really a worry xD
ENDERMAGE: This is one thing I don't miss from the group; all the drama... What happened?
ECHOSOUNDS: Well, he was commenting about science (that rumour went around so fast!) and being a real jerk so I told him to talk to Duncan if he wasn't going to believe me and stormed off. He tried to talk to me again but I pretended I didn't see or hear him. Seriously, it wasn't fair, especially if he likes me.
NANOSOUNDS: Oh, you finally figured it out then? ;)
ECHOSOUNDS: So help me I'll pour water on your laptop. It isn't funny, I never know what to do in these situations... (-.-)
ENDERMAGE: So what did he say exactly? I got a few odd glances but I assumed it was nothing...
ECHOSOUNDS: Meh, he just said apparently how I went red whilst you were "playing with my hair". Pfft. As if. :/
DINORAWR: I'm sure it'll be fine tomorrow... It might be a better idea to make up with him Echo, just in case he tries to search for you at the end of the day.
ECHOSOUNDS: ... Do I have to? :(
ENDERMAGE: Cheer up Echo, we have English and the note to examine and the plan which could go horribly wrong at any given moment! It's going to be a great day!
DINORAWR: Wow. The amount of sarcasm...
NANOSOUNDS: Just a thought; if we're only going to be taking pictures of the lists then surely we don't need to bring the letter in the first place? We could compare it afterwards! :S
DINORAWR: Valid point. Don't bring the letter in Ryth. We'll just take pictures of the notes.
ENDERMAGE: Alright; I'll just keep guard whilst Echo takes pictures I guess, once we get to the locker. This is a terrible plan.
DINORAWR: You said it was good before!
ENDERMAGE: I've changed my mind; how is Kim meant to distract those in the group that have frees at the end of the day? It's got to be Hat Films and Lewis at least.
NANOSOUNDS: Worry about yourself Rythian. I happened to have just formed my own plan... :)