I was in a rush to school, as I woke up late. I then went to my locker, but I saw Craig loitering there. I gasped. He didn't seem to notice me, but I ran into the supply closet next to me and locked the door.

I then heard another boy's voice.

"D-do we really have to d-do this, Craig?" The other boy stammered.

He sounded extremely hyperactive and antsy.

"Yes. She's been avoiding me for several days. I want her to do something for me." Craig said.

"I'm still tired," the other boy said.

"You didn't have to come with me, honey," Craig said.

"N-no. Y-you're kind of an asshole when t-talking to girls." The other boy said.

Craig chuckles. "That's because most of the girls here are mean bitches. Alyssa isn't a bitch, though. Lola told me she's a sweet girl, and I agree with her."

What?! The colorful language really caught me off guard, but the mention of Lola? I can't be mad at Lola, I never really told her to keep her mouth shut and she wouldn't understand my situation anyway.

"Hello, boys. You're here early." A voice said.

"Gah! G-good morning, Mr. Fernandez." The other boy said.

"Morning, sir. Have you seen Alyssa Johnson around? She usually comes to school at this time." Craig said.

"Oh, you two are looking for Miss Johnson? That's a surprise. I was under the impression that she's a nice girl who had no friends." Mr. Fernandez said.

I almost winced.

Craig's voice turns a little sheepish. "Yeah, we know. We, uhh, we want to be friends with her."

"Is that right?" Mr. Fernandez chuckles. "I'm glad to hear that. I heard she has no friends and avoids everyone like the plague. What kind of girl wouldn't want friends?"

"G-gah! Well, it's not like we can blame her–" the other boy said before Craig interrupted him.

"What my boyfriend means to say is that she probably just needs a little push, and I agree with him." There's an edge to Craig's tone. "Is she late today?"

"No. So far, she's made it on time, before the first class begins. She may be sick, or running late. You two boys could try again tomorrow." Mr. Fernandez said.

"Yeah, seems like it. Thank you, Mr. Fernandez. See you in Spanish later." Craig said. "Looks like she's not showing up today. I woke up at 4 am for nothing."

"S-should we try again tomorrow?" The other boy suggested.

"No. I need her now. I got some help. Hopefully they have better luck." Craig said.

I waited for what seemed like an eternity waiting for the coast to be clear.

As I was walking back home, I heard a voice say, "Hey, girl. School is that way."

I turned around and saw a familiar-looking boy. He was the exact same boy I saved from Craig. I didn't say anything.

"Where are you going?" The boy asked.

"I'm skipping school and heading straight home," I said.

The red-haired boy doesn't bat an eye and shakes his head a bit. "Nah, don't do that. Skipping is bad. Come on, let's walk to school. Afterwards, you can go to my house where I can ra- I mean, keep you safe."

I ran towards the street. I almost got ran over by a speeding car. I didn't care.

"What the fuck is wrong with you, girl?!" The man in the car yelled.

"Johnson, wait!" The red-haired boy yelled.

This is bad. Really bad.

I ran into some creepy alleyway.

I texted my father, hoping he would immediately respond. When he didn't answer, I sent him a voicemail.

"I'm being chased by boys, help."

I pace next to a metal dumpster that smells like a rotten corpse. I stayed because it's kind of comforting and peaceful.

"Okay," I feigned a smile. I tried to see some light in this. "Why am I running away? I'm overreacting. Maybe they just want to talk."

My father finally responded.

"Haha, I knew my little girl would be a heartbreaker like her old man!"

I was fuming, and promptly put my phone in my backpack.

"Goddammit, dad!" I yelled.

"Hey, you," a voice said.

I jumped into the dumpster with no hesitation. I just then realized who spoke wasn't talking to me.

"What? What do you want? We're not hiring minors, kid, get lost." The man said.

"I just wanna ask you some questions, asswipe." I immediately recognized the voice. It was the obese boy. "Have you seen this chick around?"

"What? Is she your girlfriend? Did she dump you because you're fat?" The man said.

"You're lucky I'm too fucking busy to deal with you, asshole. I'm not into girls. They're gross. Do I look like I have a thing for gross?" The obese boy said.

"Alright, alright. No, I didn't see this girl. If I had, I'd tell her to leave the premises too. Now will you get out of here? Kids aren't allowed in this area and if the cops see you outside my bar, they'll give me hell for it." The man said.

I waited for the obese boy to leave while my heart was pounding against my ribcage. If he's asking people for my whereabouts, I'm screwed. I'm assuming he had a picture of me, and he showed that to the man.

"Ugh, it smells like gross in here," the obese boy said.

I hear heavy footsteps in the dirty alleyway.

"Now," he drawls, scarily coming real close to my hiding spot. I didn't breathe. "If I were a filthy, little, cowardly gross slut, where would I be hiding?"

"If I had my way, I would've just gone straight to your house, gross ho." he taunts, voice a little farther now. "It would have made things easier. Christ, you got the whole crew chasing after your ass. You must like that, huh? Being chased by boys? Bet you're actually a whore in secret like Wendy. Come out already, bitch. I know you're around here somewhere. Girls always have this smell about them that reek so bad, hahahahaha."

The obese boy didn't say anything for a second. "Guess she's not here."

I took a deep breath.

"Psych!" The obese boy said.

My body violently lurches forward. I screamed as the entire dumpster shakes gets lifted from the ground. There's something loud and metallic near my ears that sends me into more of a panic.

I tried to open the dumpster, but it's screwed shut, trapping me inside the dumpster while it violently moves. I'm sent careening into the inner walls.

Amidst the sound of a machine being operated, the obese boy's laugh is psychotic and very much audible.

"Hahaha! Did you really think I didn't know you were in there?! Hahaha! Scream, bitch, scream!"

He was acting like this was the best thing that that's ever happened in his entire life and I burst into tears again.

So I'm going to die. Craig and his friends are hunting me down. I don't know what Craig wanted me to do, but at this point I don't really care. I was being shaken like a maraca in a dumpster next to rat poop, other miscellaneous trash, and a corpse.

"This is how I die," I wail, trying to cover my head from slamming against the metal.

Everything seems quiet all of the sudden.

I heard someone getting punched in the mouth.

"Ow! Fuck, you just knocked out a tooth, asshole!"

The top lid is opened and blue eyes find my pathetic, teary-eyed self. Behind him, I saw a crane, operated probably via some sort of remote that the obese boy was holding.

"Hey, it's okay. I'm sorry. We're not going to hurt you." The red-haired boy said, reaching out for me. I slap his hand before I slammed the dumpster lid shut.

The boy cleared his throat awkwardly.

"Yeah, this isn't going well."

"Hey, please come out," the red-haired boy said.

I ignored him.

The boy knocks on the dumpster.

"I get it. You don't want to talk. I've heard about you, Alyssa Johnson. You're an introvert, kinda like me. You're also a good kid. I understand why you disguised yourself as a boy. You don't like attention, and you lost your shit when you found out we were looking for you. To be honest, I would feel the same if I was in your shoes."

I ignored him again.

"Damn it, this isn't going according to plan," he sounds frustrated now. "All we wanted was to bring you to my place. But that fat kid just had to- I'm just glad he didn't kill you."

"Why are you concerned for my well-being?" I suddenly said.

"You're finally talking," the red-haired boy said.

"Are you deaf? You didn't answer me. Why do you care about me?" I repeated, annoyed.

"Because you saved me. But you don't want to maybe get out of there?" The red-haired boy said.

"On one condition," I said.

"Anything. I'm all ears." The red-haired boy said.

I hesitate. What am I doing? Wasn't the plan to not engage? Even if it benefits me by getting out of the dumpster, the alternative is talking to one of them . Have I gone completely insane?

"Can we talk alone? I dunno if you've got some secret hideout or what, but I'd happily talk alone there." I said.

"Alright. My house then." The red-haired boy said.

"Can I trust you?" I asked.

"Absolutely," the red-haired boy said. "I'm definitely a really nice boy that you can trust, and you could wash up and change into clean clothes. Unless if you want to talk at your house?"

I pale. I can't and won't let anyone know where I live.

"Okay, fine. I'll go to your house." I said, lifting the lid open and getting out of the dumpster.

Once we got to the house, I was in the room of the red-haired boy. Before I could take a shower, I noticed some strange looking object on the table. It had a lightbulb looking tip, a notch, and a base. I picked it up.

"What is this?" I asked.

I then heard a loud banging noise and turned around.

Before I knew it, I blacked out.

When I awoke, everything was blurry. I could hardly see anything. As I gazed around, I heard a deep yet familiar voice that made me freeze.

"Wake up, sleeping beauty."