Abram was just finishing getting ready when he heard his phone bleating on his bed from his bathroom. Running a hand through his hair for a completed tousled look, he went back into his bedroom and picked up his phone. It was a text from Alex, asking him if he wanted something from Hardee’s. He sent Alex a quick order before his thoughts wandered.
He was in a predicament when it came to Alex. Abram had told Alex that they should just enjoy their time together and not define what was going on between them, but Homecoming was in two days, and he knew that it was a big deal to Alex. Or at least, it had been.
Back when they were Abe and Liss, he always knew they’d go to Homecoming together, and eventually, Prom. But things had changed so much since Lissa had become Alex. Sure, he knew he still had feelings for Alex, but he didn’t exactly know what that really said about him and his sexuality. And he needed to talk to someone about it.
It also didn’t help that they were at a standstill with the Emmy Walker situation. Throughout the entire surrounding areas of New Hampshire, they’d found four Emily Walkers and ten total women with the last name Walker that were within driving distance, since they figured that Sumner had to know the person well enough that they were relatively close by. But Abram and Alex had both left messages for all of them, and they hadn’t heard anything the two days that had passed. Just thinking about Alex again brought up the urgency for him to talk through his emotions.
Abram headed downstairs, seeing his sister talking on the phone, presumably with Faith or Kirby. “Hey, where’s Dad?”
Willa covered the receiver end of her cell phone. “Patio.”
He left his sister to ramble on the phone about what sounded like Homecoming as he went through the kitchen and glided out of the back door, seeing his father sipping some coffee and reading something on his Kindle, leisurely reclined at their patio table.
Steven looked up upon his son’s entrance to the St. James backyard, putting down his ereader. “Morning.”
“Yeah, morning.” Abram said nervously, suddenly knowing that this was a terribly embarrassing thing to even think about talking to with his dad. But at the same time, he knew he needed to. “Can I talk to you for a sec?”
“Of course. What’s up?”
Abram sat down in front of his dad, anxiety eating away at every edge of his skin. “I just wanted to talk to you about something.”
His phone chimed again in his pocket, taking a pause from his conversation to glance at it to see that Alex was headed to the St. James residence to pick him up for school.
“Is Alex on his way?” Steven asked.
“Yeah.” Abram nodded back with weak enthusiasm. “It’s actually Alex that I wanted to talk to you about.”
Steven’s brow quivered. “You and Alex? Are you back together?”
A severe sigh dangled from Abram’s lips, a cliffhanging answer clutched in the shadows of his mouth. “I don’t know. I mean, it was a huge shock when I found out that Alex had transitioned. But throughout the past month, I can't ignore the fact that the feelings are still there.”
“Okay.” Steven nodded. “So what’s the problem?”
“I’m just a little confused about what it all means. Alex is a guy. Does this, wanting to be more than friends with him, make me gay? If Alex and I started dating again, I don’t know what that means as far as who I am to other people.”
His dad smiled a little bit, regarding his son with warm features on the horizon of his face. “Son, do you love Alex?”
“I don’t know,” Abram admitted without conflict. “I definitely did before. I don’t know about now, but for whatever reason, I can’t stop thinking about him. And now, when we kiss—”
“So you’ve kissed, huh?”
Blushing slightly, Abram laughed. “Yes, Dad, we’ve kissed. And when we have kissed, it’s just felt so right. It’s felt like we’ve never been apart these past few months.”
“Then why worry about what that makes you?” his dad went on. “If you want to be with Alex and Alex wants to be with you, then be together. Life’s too short to worry about what label to give yourself. Just be happy, Abram. That’s all your mother and I have ever wanted for you and your sister.”
All Abram could do was smile at his father as he got up and gave him a hug. “Thanks, Dad.”
Being with Alex, he was coming to realize, didn’t make him anything but lucky to have found a person to share his life with. He had found a palpitating, kindred soul in Alex, a bright being that knew him better than he thought he knew himself. To Abram, maybe loving Alex meant he just loved people, not genders.
He went to leave, but his father caught his attention again. “So then what’s next for you and Alex?”
“Ask him to Homecoming.” Abram beamed as he went back inside the house.
He reentered the house just as there was an unruly visitor outside the front door. He walked through the kitchen and watched as his mom reached for the handle, a smile pulling Abram’s lips upward as he expected to see Alex on the opposite side of the door, but Abram wouldn’t have bet on seeing the blonde that was currently at his doorstep when the door swung open and revealed their visitor.
“Celia?” came November’s voice, her tone drawn back in a high pitch of bewilderment.
Celia Shadows gave a curt grin to the two St. James family members in front of her. “Nova, it’s been a long time.”
Abram hadn’t seen Sumner’s stepmother in a long time, since the night that Sumner attacked them. She looked like she always did, with hazy grayblue eyes and pinched facial features that made her look leagues younger than she truly was. She fiddled with her fingertips as she eyed the St. James matriarch with extreme intent.
“Do you have a minute?”
She had just slipped on her favorite nude pumps when Kirby heard a car pull up outside of her house. Her mom had been gone from their restored Victorian when she had woken up this morning. Not answering her phone, Kirby was left to wonder where her mother was the entire time she had been getting ready for school. So when she heard the vehicle rustling outside, she raced to the window to see what was going on. Kirby couldn’t have possibly prepared herself for what was waiting to assault her retinas.
Athena Wheaton got out of the police car laughing, Detective Alston Dagger opening up the unmarked police car door for her. The smile on his face reflected the same giddy expression her mother wore like a new expensive perfume, and Kirby’s jaw lay open at the surely mirage of action through the blinds that she was witnessing.
When her mom entered the house, Kirby was there, glancing at her from the foyer with grand eyes. Athena jumped once her eyes fell on her daughter.
“Lord, Kirby. You scared me.”
“Why did Detective Dagger just drop you off?”
She saw hesitation scurry across her mother’s face. But she quickly did her best to replace it with a neutral sentiment. “Just some business.”
“Mom.” Kirby approached her, not believing the feign attempt at an excuse.
“I’m serious. He brought me down to the station to ask me some questions about the escaped patient.”
Interest caused her eyebrows to bob for a few seconds, like waves crashing over on her forehead. “Blanche Baxxen?”
“She was one of my patients, along with many others. He was just questioning me about my interactions with her.”
Wrinkling her nose at a familiar aroma, Kirby scoffed. “Okay. So you went down to answer some questions and you swapped stories over coffee?” When her mother’s irises flexed in reaction, Kirby knew that her silent assumptions were right. “I can smell the dark roast on you.”
Losing the facade, Athena sighed. “He may have invited me out for a cup of coffee afterwards.”
“Are you forgetting that he accused me, really both of us, of helping Sumner back into town?”
“He’s a good guy, Kirby. And it’s been a really long time since I’ve met one of those.” Athena said. “He’s one of the good guys. And
he’s...sweet.”
The smile on her mother’s face was enough to make the need to retch rise within her. “Just be careful.”
“I’m fine, darling. Who knows, maybe it was a onetime thing.”
As her mother passed her, Kirby saw the stereotypical schoolgirl giddiness glaze over her features again, making Kirby think that she’d be seeing a lot more of Alston Dagger in a more personal setting, one she wasn’t sure she was prepared to be a part of.
Something fell out of her mother’s jacket as she walked into the kitchen. Kirby was quick to retrieve it and was just about to yell at her mother about dropping the seemingly innocent piece of paper, but something told Kirby not to.
Picking it up, Kirby stood in the foyer and traced her mother’s name on the front of what she realized was a letter. She was unsure if she should actually read the letter, hoping that she wasn’t crossing some huge line of trust between her and her mother, but she had to know. So when she opened the letter and saw its contents, Kirby gasped so loud, her mother appeared from the kitchen, causing Kirby to shove the letter in the pocket of her blazer before Athena could see what she had in her hands.
“Everything alright, sweetheart?”
Kirby plastered on a smile. “I’m fine.”
Athena smiled back. “I’ll grab us some muffins and we’ll head to school, okay?”
“Yeah.” she held her grin.
Once her mother receded back into the kitchen, Kirby ripped out the letter again, gawking at the strokes of the pen that had been written. She wanted to confront her mother, ask her what in the hell was going on, but she knew she couldn't. Not just yet. She knew she needed to mull things over before she asked her mom why in the hell Blanche Baxxen was writing to her and asking for her help.
Walking onto the campus of Westbrooke High School felt weird for Sterling. She’d only known the familiar halls of her high school in Hanover, vibrant color schemes along the walls and warm inviting decorations strung up by overly energized faculty. But Westbrooke was all dark paint and noncommittal upkeep, something so foreign to her it made her wonder how anyone got anything done in such a state of colorless environment.
Sterling followed the flow of the crowd toward the cafeteria, searching for the people she longed to talk to. Pushing her way into the heart of the cafeteria, she scanned the room with severe focus until a couple minutes passed and she found the four of them sitting at a table in the back.
With a highstrung breath, Sterling marched over to them, hearing their laughter grow louder and louder in her ears until she saw their faces drop from laughter to a collective of unspoken inquiries as they looked her over.
The first one to stare into her eyes was the one who seemed to ooze charm and confidence, his wildly styled black hair as untamed as his personality. “Can we help you?”
His friends joined him in glancing over the honey brown haired vixen. But she kept her cool as she rolled her shoulders before she spoke, steeling herself for the topic at hand.
“You’re all Sumner’s former friends, right?”
“Yeah.” the black haired boy said with caution. “And you are?”
“Sterling Jacobs.” She gave them a small smile. “I believe you all know my brother, Straton.” All of their eyes strained at her words. Sterling wasted no time in continuing on with her mission. “I want to talk about Blanche Baxxen.”
The tallest of the group, a scruffy blond that would, under different circumstances, totally be her type, stood up from the table. In a faint whisper, he leaned toward her. “What do you know about Blanche Baxxen?”
“Maybe we should talk somewhere less public?” Sterling suggested.
They were all in agreement that they should move the exchange elsewhere. The four of them led her to a small little area between the cafeteria and another school building, secluded from the rest of the student body.
“Straton never mentioned having a sister.” The small boy with light brown hair spoke softly. “Does Faith know about you?”
The stain of a smile accosted Sterling’s lips. “You must be Alex.”
He nodded, returning the grin. The rest of them quickly introduced themselves, allowing Sterling to put their faces to the names her brother had given her. Not that he knew she was here and skipping school to talk to them about her best friend.
“So, Sterling, what are you doing here?” Mercer asked.
“I want to know what you know about Blanche. Because if you know anything about Sumner using her—”
“We don’t know anything. We never even heard of her before the news report.” Bridge explained, picking at the handful of tater tots he’d brought with him from lunch.
“Nothing? You never saw her with Sumner at a party or anything like that?”
Abram shook his head. “He never talked about a girl. Really ever.”
“Anyway, we think he met Blanche after everything happened the night of the first attack.” Alex added.
“None of this makes sense,” Sterling began to pace, giving control over to her frustrations. “This isn’t Blanche.”
“How do you know her?”
Sterling tossed her hair to the other side, biting her lip in small slivers. They waited for her explanation as she quietly gathered herself. “You swear you don’t know anything about Blanche’s involvement with Sumner?”
“If we did, we’d be sitting in a police station having every detail pulled out of us.” Abram told her. “We’re as clueless as you, Sterling.”
Quieting her mind, she nodded at them. If Blanche had met Sumner after he fled from police, they really wouldn’t know anything. If they did, they probably wouldn’t have wanted to hear what she had to say because they would already have some of the answers. Slowly, she began to explain herself.
“Blanche and I are best friends. We met in middle school when she moved to Hanover from Virginia. She was a grade above me, so when she went to the high school, we were separated. But that’s when she got close to Straton. My freshman year, when Blanche was a sophomore and my brother was a senior, they started dating.”
“Straton and Blanche?”
Sterling shook her head positively at Alex’s question. “For a little while. Once Straton graduated, they split and it was back to me and Blanche against the world.” She paused to laugh it off a little, remembering the dynamic between her and the girl she considered a sister. “But then Blanche graduated this past summer and we were separated again.”
“Where did she go after graduation?” Mercer said.
“Her plan was to go to Heartmyth, but because of some issues with her mom, she couldn't go right away. She always wanted to travel, so she took the opportunity to see more than just the sights of New Hampshire. So, she left town."
“And she ended up finding Sumner along the way.” Bridge scoffed.
Sterling raised her shoulders noncommittally. “I guess. But there’s no way Blanche put her mother in the coma.”
Alex’s eyes bulged, and he saw all of his friends were reacting in the exact way that he was. “Coma?”
“That’s why they sent her to Arclan Asylum. She returned back to Hanover and the day I was supposed to finally reunite with her, they found her mom unresponsive. Blanche was blamed, and sent to Arclan.”
“This entire thing is insane.” Bridge sighed.
“But she didn’t do it. Blanche and her mom had serious issues, and I’m not saying that there were times that she didn’t have just cause to at least wish her mom ill will, but she would never bash her own mother’s head in.” Tears stung at the brims of her eyes. “I think Sumner is the one who hurt Blanche’s mother.”
“Sumner?”
Sterling affirmed Bridge’s curiosity, shaking her head as she went on.
“She met Sumner, got involved with him, and finally realized that he was actually dangerously crazy and stopped helping him. Then a couple days later, Blanche’s mother is comatose and she ends up in Arclan, where Sumner just happened to be hiding beneat
h? I don’t believe in such a huge coincidence.”
The friends took in her words, staring at Sterling and then at one another. If somehow Sumner had framed Blanche for her mother’s condition, then that meant that Sumner was even more of an attempted murderer. He was a calculated and coldhearted vessel of vicious assault.
“How much did Straton tell you?” Abram said.
“He told me about his and Hugo’s interactions with Sumner at the start of August. And about how the police knew about him but not about Hugo and to keep it that way for as long as possible. Then he told me about you guys, about what you must have went through that night.” Sterling concluded.
“We’re really sorry about Blanche,” Alex began. “But we have no idea where she’s hiding.”
“I’m sorry if I seemed to accuse you before. I just want to find her. She must be terrified, being on the run.”
“We want to find her too. “Abram nodded. “She spent time with Sumner right before he showed up at Straton’s doorstep. If she knows why he was practically bathing in blood, we have to find her and get to the bottom of why Sumner started this hysteria all those months ago.”
“That won’t be a problem.” Sterling said, her demeanor straightlaced and determined. “Because after Westbrooke’s Homecoming, I’ll be transferring here.” She ignored the crazed way their eyes constricted. “Because even if Blanche wises up and flees this place, I’m not giving up until I know every detail of what Sumner Shadows did that led him to destroy my best friend’s life.”
Sterling Jacobs spun on the tips of her toes then, content with abandoning Sumner’s old friends and letting them mull her words over like the serious proclamation that they were.
Adelaide Llewellyn felt instantly nervous once she ended her phone call with November St. James. She placed her cell phone on the kitchen counter, her husband coming into the room with his interests raised.
“Who was that?” Ethan prompted.
“Nova,” she responded, absentmindedly swiping at her cheek as she felt the heat rising to her face. “Celia showed up and wanted to have a dinner with everyone.”
“Celia? Why?”
Adelaide scoffed. “Some sort of mock apology for the incident beneath Arclan.”
Ethan shrugged as he searched through the refrigerator for a pitcher of sweet tea he’d made earlier. Pouring himself a glass, he said, “I wonder what took her so long to do something like this. Her and Hendrick haven’t said two words to us since the night Sumner attacked the kids.”
“I get it, they wanted to give us space.” Adelaide told her husband. “But I still feel uneasy about the whole thing.”
“I just don’t know how the kids are going to react to it.”
A dark thought crept into her mind then. A thought that had been a heavy shadow on her subconscious for a while now. Hesitation settled into her skin as she braced herself for what she was about to do. Adelaide had wanted to discuss her weighing thoughts with her husband for weeks. But fear of Ethan’s response had halted her proaction and implanted the seed of doubt deep within the abyss of her psyche; until now.
“Speaking of the kids, I think we should tell Alex and Faith the truth.”
Her eyes stayed on Ethan’s the entire time. At first, he remained impassive and unmoving. Then his eyes sparked and a huge exhale widened his nostrils in hindrance. Adelaide saw the hair raise on his knuckles. “No, Addie. No way in hell.”
“Ethan—”
“Are you ready for our kids to change the way they look at us?” He staggered in his stance, making her feel all the more uneasy. “I’m not. I may never be.”
“They deserve the truth. Do you know how hard this has been to keep bottled up after everything that’s happened?”
“And it’s just easy for me, right? You need to stop thinking that you’re alone in this, Adelaide. I’m your husband. This is something we agreed on. We’re not doing this to them.”
“How long do you expect us to wait, Ethan? Until the twins leave for college? When they get married?”
“Enough.” Ethan shook his head with as much vigor as his baritone carried upon every syllable he had spoken. “We’re not saying a word.”
Ethan Llewellyn stormed off, his feelings distorting his words to the point of scaring him, not sure of what he would tell his wife if he didn’t walk away. A bedroom door slammed with finality out of her vision, Adelaide wishing she hadn’t decided to share the burden that she continued to feel aching in her heart. Instead, she swallowed the truth like she always did and grabbed her keys in a futile attempt to leave the house, taking her deep secret with her.
“A friendly reminder that Homecoming nominees will be announced shortly before school officially ends.”
Alex heard the announcement over the intercom system, but he wasn’t all that interested. He just cared that they got out of class for the last five minutes before school let out for the Homecoming announcement. Cutting his way through the random crowd of students, he found his friends huddled together by his sister’s locker, talking mildly amongst themselves. Aside from his friends and his sister, Kirby and Willa were gathered around as well.
“There you are.” Faith smiled at her brother.
Abram came up to him, grinning like a wide eyed puppy as he put an arm around his shoulders. Mercer and Kirby were hanging off each other. Bridge was laughing at something with Willa. All eyes fell on him then, making Alex feel uncomfortable enough to involuntarily laugh.
“What’s going on?”
“Though she won’t tell us who,” Bridge said. “Faith says at least one of us got nominated for Homecoming Court.”
“Why would someone nominate us?” Alex huffed.
“Everyone has pretty much gotten over the Sumner thing, and now most people feel guilty for how they’ve treated you guys, especially after Sumner showed up underneath Arclan.” Faith explained.
“It’s obviously me.” Mercer said, his head raised in a show of confidence. “All of Westbrooke not only feels bad for me with my gunshot wound, but they finally have come to terms with me being the hottest guy in school.”
Kirby put a finger to Mercer’s lips. “Please stop.”
They all laughed together as the PA system crackled back to life, silencing most of the chatter around them in the hallway.
“And now it’s time to announce this year’s Homecoming Court.”
The friends all listened while the principal announced the girls nominated for Homecoming Queen. But Alex wasn’t surprised when his sister was nominated, considering how many clubs she was in and how connected to everything within the school she was. Faith brushed it off, saying that she was way too busy to campaign for votes despite the smile on her face.
“Our first nominee for Homecoming King is...Abram St. James.”
Shock wasn’t even an accurate portrayal of what overwhelmed Abram’s senses when he heard his name being called. His friends congratulated him in a fury of smiles and eager embraces, all while Thalia Cobbins continued to elate the school with the remaining nominees.
He gave Alex the last hug as he laughed.
“Congrats, Abe.” Mercer grinned. “You really deserve it.”
“Normally, there’s only four nominees for both king and queen,” Thalia urged everyone’s attention, waiting as everyone hung off every syllable she uttered. “But this year, there was a tie between the last two nominees, so this year there will be an additional student vote for Homecoming King. Congratulations to...Alex Llewellyn.”
Alex felt completely numb after the announcement, seeing nothing besides Abram as the taller man swung him into a massive hug. It had been Alex’s dream back when he was Lissa to be Homecoming Queen, and of course, later, Prom Queen. But never in his wildest dreams did he conjure up a way where he could possibly win Homecoming King as his true self.
“This is perfect!” Abram said, grabbing Alex’s hands, their friends still encompassing them. “I was going to do this whole grand gesture but now is t
he perfect segue.”
Alex stood by, looking into Abram’s eyes with cloudy curiosity all while their friends looked on with just as inquisitive expressions as the one Alex had.
“I know it’s been a weird couple of months and a lot has gone on in our lives since senior year started, but I’ve done a lot of thinking lately. I’m finally at a really good place in my life and the only thing missing, is you.” Their friends stood in anticipation as Abram squeezed Alex’s hands with his own. “I want us back. I want you back.” Abram went on. “That’s why I’m asking you...will you go to Homecoming with me?”
“Abe, what about—”
“I’m not done. I want us to go to Homecoming together, but I want you to go with me as my boyfriend.”
Bridge and Mercer immediately clasped each other on the shoulders and gave half hugs to one another. Alex saw his sister looking on lovingly out of the corner of his eyes. But when he turned back to Abram, all he could see in his eyes was love.
“Abe, I don’t want you to do this if it’s not really what you want.”
Abram laughed. “Don’t you get it, Alex? I love you. I love you as Lissa and I love you as Alex. You were right. You haven’t changed. You’re the same person I fell in love with two years ago. I don’t care what other people interpret us as, because we’ll always be us. I love you, Alex. All you have to do is let me.” He beamed with radiating confidence and adoration. “Let me take you to Homecoming like we always planned. Say yes.”
Alex laughed, suddenly flooded with warm emotions. He saw himself reflected in Abram’s eyes and he realized that this is what true, concentrated happiness really felt like. Clutching back against Abram’s grip, Alex chuckled lightly, a nod preceding his answer.
“Absolutely.”
Holding onto his hands, Abram pulled himself forward and gingerly laid his lips on top of Alex’s, both of them finally feeling at peace with their relationship, not caring who saw them kiss. They heard their friends exclaiming ecstatically, but Alex and Abram were caught up in each other, knowing that they were back to how they were meant to be.
Morning came all too quickly the next day for everyone. The huge news of the Homecoming Court was still looming on all of their minds. For Bridge particularly, it made him a little sad when he thought about the upcoming dance. He was the only one without an actual date. Abram and Alex were an official thing again. Mercer was obviously taking Kirby, Faith was going with Straton. Even Willa was unavailable to take pity upon his situation since she had a date too, telling everyone it was a surprise as to who she was going with. And then there was the issue of Ben, not that his friends knew anything about his secret relationship.
Ben and Bridge had been pretty much seeing each other ever since the incident at the Meadows residence when they had madeup. Bridge still held a bundle of guilt about it, but Ben swore he was going to break things off with Paige when the time was right.
He was waiting for his friends to meet him at school, passing by one of the facultyonly bathrooms when he was quickly pulled inside the one closest to him. Ben’s darkly handsome face came into view as he flipped the bathroom light on, Bridge’s mind ever spinning from the abrupt change in scenery.
“Ben,” Bridge giggled, mentally chastising himself at the occurrence. “What are you doing?”
“I wanted to see you.” Ben said with a quick kiss and a smile to match it. “And to tell you that I’m gonna be at Homecoming.”
“You are?” This was news to Bridge, considering the point that Ben hadn’t really stepped foot into the halls of Westbrooke since he’d been relieved of his Abram advisory duties just about a week before.
He nodded quickly. “Paige has to supervise and I’m going as her date.”
“Right,” Bridge exhaled, over their conversation already. “You’re going because of Paige.”
“Hey.” Ben let a hand cup the rigid jaw line he loved kissing, staring into Bridge’s mysteriously dark irises as he spoke. “I was serious about us, Bridge. It’s just not the right moment for me to breakup with Paige right now.”
He sighed again. “I know. It’s just hard. I want to be with you, for real. And keeping this from my friends—”
“I know.” Ben softly pressed a kiss on Bridge’s forehead. “It won’t always be like this. I promise.”
“I gotta go.” Bridge said, giving him a weak smile. “My friends are probably wondering where I am.”
“Alright. See you at Homecoming?”
“Just try and keep your eyes off me.” He leaned into Ben and gave him a rough kiss full of Ican’twaits and waituntilwe’realones, leaving Ben wanting more as he left the older man in the bathroom, and exited once a few moments had passed. Bridge stepped out of the bathroom, only to be face to face with Principal Cobbins.
“That doesn’t look like the student bathrooms, Mr. Mathison.”
He gave her an abashed wince of an apology. “Sorry, Principal Cobbins. Won’t happen again.”
Bridge turned and ran down the hall, causing Thalia to roll her eyes and yell, “You’re indoors, Mathison!”, which triggered him to ultimately slow his pace as he ran toward the meeting place in between the two school buildings to gather with his friends.
When he stumbled upon his friends in their signature nook, he saw Alex and Abram holding hands, something he hadn’t seen them do in quite a while. It inspired a smile to tickle his upper lip.
“You guys took no time getting gross again.” Bridge snickered.
“Jealous?” Alex raised an eyebrow in mock annoyance, a smirk on the tips of his lips.
“Hardly,” he smiled back. “How’s it feel to be back together?”
Alex looked to Abram before regarding Bridge again. “Surreal.”
“Yeah. It’s different now. It feels more authentic than before.” Abram explained.
“Now we just gotta find you a date, B.” Mercer guffawed. “Unless you’ve already found a willing onetime victim.”
“Hey, contrary to my track record, I do want to have a meaningful relationship and I am capable of one.”
“I know.” Mercer nodded. “I was joking. Are you okay?”
“I’m fine. I’m just gonna go stag to Homecoming. I don’t need a date to get a guy to dance with me.”
“True.” Alex chimed in. “Plus, you can spend extra time laughing at those of us on Homecoming Court when the karaoke thing starts.”
“What karaoke thing?” Abram’s voice heightened, terror taking over his tone.
“I’ve been waiting to tell you,” Alex stated. “Faith only told me this morning. The Homecoming Court is going to perform, singing a song of our choosing to the school. Then after all the nominees perform, voting will be open.”
“Why?” Mercer asked.
“They’re looking for chemistry between the noms and their dates. The hope is that it’ll be about that instead of a popularity contest, even if two of the winners aren’t actually together.”
“Interesting. Weird logic, but interesting.” Bridge shrugged.
“Honestly, I just think Mrs. Wingfield has been watching too much of The Voice.” Alex laughed.
“I assume you guys haven’t heard from any of the potential Emmy Walkers?”
Mercer’s inquiry shifted the vivacity amongst them. Abram and Alex had been the ones to leave the messages with the people they called, so it was up to them to keep tabs on the prospects of finding the connection between Sumner and this conundrum of a woman.
“Nothing yet.” Abram admitted. “But hopefully soon. Emmy Walker has to tie this whole thing together.”
The conversation was altered yet again when they saw Sterling wandering around campus.
“The hell?”
Bridge led the others away from their nook to the pathways around campus until they approached Sterling on the quad, the grass still slick from the morning’s dew.
“Sterling,” Alex took the reins on the questions, Sterling’s eyes resting on them with intense and irritated pupils. ?
??What are you doing back here?”
“I’ve been looking for you.” Sterling stated. “I’m taking the rest of the week off since I’m transferring here Monday.”
“You’re still going through with that?” Abram interrogated.
“Without question.” Sterling affirmed. She reached into her bag, pulling out a letter. “And this just solidifies why I have to.”
She shoved the letter toward them, allowing them to huddle together and devour the words scribed on the page.
Sterling,
Don’t worry about me, I’m okay, but I won’t be for much longer if what I assume is happening turns out to be true. Trust the Slayer Society, they’re trying to put an end to Sumner, something I could never do. Show them this letter, hopefully they’ll realize I trust them and, maybe, they’ll return the favor. I’ll be at their Homecoming. I’ll explain everything there. Meet me on the roof. I’ll see the five of you there.
Blanche
Saucers for eyes, the once again dubbed Slayer Society didn’t know what to do with their soon to be meeting with Blanche Baxxen and her vague and choppy attempt at warning them about impending dangers.
“I found it this morning,” she said. “It was on my bed when I woke up.”
“How do we know she’ll show?” Mercer’s worry was easily mirrored on all of his friends’ faces.
“Can’t you read between the lines?” Sterling’s feeble state of being began to quake in front of them. “Blanche is scared. She said she won’t be okay for long. Sumner might be trying to track her down, which means this is her last chance to tell her story before something awful happens.”
“Well then we better be ready for Homecoming.” Abram said.
“Are we really, for once, actually going to figure something out about why Sumner started all of this?” Alex said, his open ended question full of hope.
They all begged it to come to life, because the reason behind why they were henceforth referred to as The Slayer Society was a mystery they really hoped to solve. If a situation presented itself in the form of meeting with Blanche, they could go back to lives free of secrets and finding answers to questions that, whether they knew it or not, they might not be ready for.
16
HOMEKILLING