The next day, I hunted for Aaron in the library, where I found him studying. He raised an eyebrow at me as I marched up to him. "Weird to see you approaching me," he commented. "But I think I like it."

            Typical. "I've got a question."

           "If it's about chemistry. I have no idea. It's kicking my ass already."

          I shook my head. "No it's not a school question."

          "Yeah? You finally want to go out on a date with me?"

           "I want to know if you've talked to Shawn lately."

          Aaron seemed surprised to hear Shawn's name come out of my mouth. His eyes grew wide and his face paled. Then after a moment he seemed to recollect himself and he shook his head. "Nope."

            Figuring he was lying, I decided to not let it drop. I had to be assertive. "Are you sure? It'd be really helpful if you were talking to him."

          "How would it be helpful?" Aaron asked, looking suspicious. "Trying to extend his jail sentence?"

          "If I could..."

          Aaron's face hardened.

          I sighed. "No. I just need to talk to him, okay?"

          "Why?"

          I chewed on my bottom lip. Could I tell Aaron? Was it a smart idea to? What if it was Shawn moving behind the scenes again and Aaron was a part of it? Could I trust him?

          Aaron seemed to notice my hesitation and he rolled his eyes at me. "What's that expression for? You think I'm going to attack you?"

           "No," I answered immediately. No, I could trust Aaron this time around. I was just being paranoid. "Isaac— professor Isaac used to be a part of the gang Shawn and Chris were in and he seems to think that someone's trying to get it back together."

         "Really?" Aaron responded dubiously. "What is up with you and teachers who are ex-gang members? You're so weird, Holly."

           "Aaron, seriously. I just want to talk to Shawn to see what he knows."

           "You expect him just to spill everything because you go and see him? Are you forgetting you and Heywood are the ones who put him in the jail cell he's currently rotting in? Why would he want to help you at all? A guilty conscience?"

          "Well..."

          "Is Heywood okay with you doing this? Does he know you're doing this?" When I didn't answer right away, Aaron smirked. "Oh ho ho, you're going behind his back aren't you?"

          I clenched my fists. "I'm not going to stand by and do nothing."

          "I like that," he nodded. "Heroic Holly. Alright, I'll go with you."

           "You don't have to go with me," I replied, pushing my hair behind my ears. "I'm sure I'll be fine alone."

         Tsking, he shoved his hands into his pockets. "I'll feel calmer if I go with you."

           "Huh?"

          "Nothing," he snapped. "I'm just going with you. End of story."

          "Um, alright? I guess?" I eyed him cautiously. What was up with the sudden concern for me? Was he trying to turn a new leaf?

          Turning his back to me, he threw up a hand. "After school today then. I'll meet you by your car."

         My eyes widened. "Today?"

           His eyes lit up mischievously. "You gotta live in the moment, Holly. Make sure you think of a good lie to tell Chris."

           "I..." I trailed off as he wandered off, leaving me with the feeling of guilt sapping through my veins.

              Make sure you think of a good lie to tell Chris.

         I ran a hand over my face, readjusting my backpack. Just the thought of lying to Chris made me uneasy. But what was I supposed to do? Tell him? He'd just come to me and throw me in the car and not let me leave his side until I gave up on this stupid idea. He cared about me too much to let me do this.

             "I'm a horrible person, you're so dumb Holly," I muttered to myself, making my way out of the library. Maybe to find the closest wall and bang my head against it. "Stupid, stupid, stupid..."

         "Nothing we haven't known, I guess," a familiar voice commented.

         Like a deer in headlights, I froze, eyes shooting up to see Jeremy grinning down at me. "Uh—"

         "Why do you look so scared?" His face turned serious. "Did something happen?"

         "No!" I denied loudly. "Um, no," I repeated quieter. I cursed myself inwardly. Way to act nonchalant.

         He crossed his arms over his chest. Had his muscles always looked so intimidating? I held my chin high. "I just bumped into Aaron," I said. Technically it wasn't a lie. But I was definitely running on technicalities.

          "Ah, I thought his face was a little too devious for coming out of the library. What did he do?"

        "Nothing much."

          Jeremy stared at me with an unreadable expression. His lips were pressed together firmly, but he also looked slightly amused. I stared back at him, feeling my palms getting sweaty. "Isaac."

I blinked.

"Aha!" he cried.

"What?"

"What are you up to, you little fox?" he asked, now blocking the door and my only escape.

I glanced around us, trying to find a different way to flee. "What are you talking about, Jeremy? I'm just trying to get to English class."

"Is that so? What happened to your math class?"

Crap. That's right, math was first. "That's what I meant."

He arched an eyebrow. "Didn't Chris tell you to stay out of trouble?"

"I haven't done anything," I argued. Why was Jeremy so perceptive in the most troubling times to be?

"You do realize you are the world's worst liar?"

I felt my face growing hot. "Why are you accusing your best friend of things she hasn't done?!"

His eyes widened. "Huh? Best friend? I'm your best friend?"

I took this as my best opportunity to escape. "I have to go best friend, I'll see you in Home Ec!" Bolting forward, I pushed Jeremy aside and ran out of the library.

"Best friend!" Jeremy cried after me. "I'm so telling Chris!"

I was so going to hell for that. Good thing Jeremy could be so easily distracted. I'd make it up to him later with an ice cream or something. The last thing I needed was him getting suspicious before I could even do anything. Just like Chris, he'd easily throw me over his shoulder and bring me to my boyfriend. Or worse, he'd tell my boyfriend.

I shuddered. Yeah, I had to be careful of Jeremy.

The rest of the day I was walking on needles. Knowing what I planned on doing after class made me anxious. So went it came time of Home Ec, I stopped outside the door, mentally preparing myself to deal with all my friends without acting like a total idiot.

"Holly?"

"I'm not doing anything!" I said quickly, whipping around and throwing up my hands.

Isaac's green eyes met my vision. "I didn't say you were?"

"Oh, it's just you," I sighed.

"Yep, it's just me."

"That came out wrong. I thought you were Jeremy."

"You don't want to see Jeremy?" Isaac asked, seeming a little surprised. "I thought you guys were close friends?"

I looked around us, making sure the halls were empty before speaking again. "We are, but he doesn't know about the whole investigating thing and I don't want it getting back to Chris."

Isaacs face fell a little. "Holly, I don't want you doing anything behind anyone's back if it makes you uncomfortable."

I squared my shoulders. "I can't imagine all the trouble every went through because of me. I need to make it up to them. Even if it turns out to be nothing, I want to be sure."

Isaac reached out and put a hand on my shoulder. "I know you're a good person with good intentions, but what if you end up causing more trouble for everyone else?"

"Weren't you the one pressuring us to see if someone was really out there?" I demanded. "Are you trying to scare me off now?"

"I've just thought about it more. I don't want you guys involved."

"Well it's too late. I won't stand around if Chris or even you're in danger. I'll do my best to not bring any trouble upon myself."

Isaac's expression softened. "Thank you, Holly."

I offered him a small smile. "I'm actually going to talk to Shawn after class today. Aaron— one of my friends, well kind of friend— knows him and can help me talk to him."

"What? You're going to go alone?"

"Well, Aaron will be with me."

"I'll go too," Isaac decided. "It'll be safer. I won't be able to have peace of mind knowing you're going if I don't go."

I heard someone coming down the hall, so I didn't argue back with him. Honestly though, I didn't mind if he came. I'd feel safer as well. Aaron was... well, Aaron. "Okay, let's meet up by the back entrance so hopefully no one will notice."

"Sure, I'm going to head in," Isaac responded, pushing open the door to his classroom.

I followed him in, taking a few deep breaths. Just act like normal, just act like normal.

"I'm just saying," I heard Lance's voice drift into the room, "that a bear catches fish basically for a living. It could kill a shark literally with its bear hands."

"Not all bears catch trout from rivers," was Jeremy's response as he, Lance, and Casey all entered the classroom. "And what if it's a whale shark? Those are way bigger than any bear. Not necessarily aggressive, but it'd probably scare the bear away."

"If a shark was hungry enough, I bet it could kill a bear," Casey added.

Lance wrinkled his nose at both of them. "You're only on each other's sides because you're a couple."

"Not true!" they both denied.

Jeremy grinned at her. "Jinx!"

"You owe me fried pickles!" Casey said quickly.

Lance looked over at me and shook his head. They are so weird, he mouthed to me.

Lance. He was my savior! He could keep things relatively calm and keep Jeremy distracted enough to leave me alone. I kind of wanted to hug him. He must've seen my grateful expression because he looked a little sketched out. I quickly masked my face and waved them over.

"Have you guys been balancing your checkbooks?" Isaac began, ready to start class on time for once.

I pulled out my checkbook immediately. He caught my eye and gave me a small smile. I grimaced back at him, catching Jeremy turning to me, eyes curious again. Just two more classes, and I'd be home free...

After I'd somehow survived home ec, I opted to skip out of Spanish class. If it were just Jeremy and I alone it would be a lot harder to handle. I texted Aaron to see if he was in class or if we could get an early start. His response was to meet him at the rear exit in five minutes.

I swallowed nervously and then headed to the exit, popping by Isaac's classroom to see if he was done and was still interested in coming. "We're heading out now," I said, sticking my head through the door.

It looked like he'd finished packing up his stuff. "That works for me. "

"Let's go then."

When we met Aaron by the door, he gave Isaac a dirty look. "Why is he coming? Is this Isaac?"

"I am," Isaac responded before I could. "I don't think it's a good idea for just Holly to go. Even if you're there."

"Let's go then," Aaron said, shoving his hands into his pockets. "I'll drive."

I opened my mouth to say no, I'd drive, but Isaac beat me to it. "I'll drive. My car is closer."

Aaron looked a little mistrustful but shrugged anyway. "Fine."

My phone buzzed in my back pocket. I pulled out it, my heart skipping a beat when I saw it was from Chris.

Worst idea ever starting with the dissection. Some girl just puked. Gross. How's class? Jeremy annoying you?

I stared down at the text message. What was I doing? Why was I going behind Chris's back? It didn't feel right at all. Why did he have to text me the minute I was leaving? Now I couldn't do it. I couldn't lie to him.

Suddenly someone snagged my phone from my hand. Startled, I looked up at Aaron, who shoved it into his pocket. "You look like you're having second thoughts so I figure that was Heywood. Forget him, let's go."

"I can't—"

"Let's go," Aaron repeated, grabbing my wrist and forcibly tugging me forwards. "You want to talk to Shawn, you're going to."

"But—"

Aaron gestured for Isaac to lead that way. "Come on, let's go. You never know when the other jerk might show up and steal Holly away."

Was he talking about Jeremy? I didn't struggle much as Aaron led me away. Part of me still wanted to go. Even if the bigger part didn't want to.

I sighed heavily. Whatever. I'd go and if anything happened, I'd tell Chris afterwards. He might get mad at me, but at least I wouldn't be lying to him.

With my mind set, I slid into the passenger seat of Isaac's car. He drove a modest Honda Civic, silver outside with leather interior. I placed my hands on my lap, staring out the window the entire ride. I wasn't entirely sure what I was going to say to Shawn. I knew that he probably wouldn't answer any of my questions, but it was still worth a shot. Maybe Aaron could get something out of him that I couldn't.

When we pulled up to the jail, I could barely calm my racing pulse. It'd been awhile since I'd been to the jail. Isaac and Aaron both seemed nonchalant as they got out of the car, heading up to the entrance without even hesitating a second. I wondered if they were familiar with it?

We passed through a metal detector upon entering and then went up to the front desk person, who asked for our licenses and socials. There were a couple papers to fill out as well. The more we did, the more nervous I got.

"Back again?" the guy said to Aaron, raising an eyebrow.

Aaron's eyes widened and he steadily avoided eye contact with me. "I'm just with them."

The guy nodded. "I've told you to pre-book your visits."

"Sorry."

"I'll let it slide this one more time. The guard will be over to lead you to the visitation room momentarily."

I rubbed my sweaty palms on my jeans. Visitation room? Right.  We weren't going to talk to him behind bars.

"Follow me," a deep voice said and I nearly jumped.

The prison guard was some tall, burly man with mean eyes. I stepped behind Isaac, letting him walk in front of me. I took a few deep breaths. It would be fine. There were guards everywhere.

I wasn't sure why I pictured jails as dirty, but I was surprised at how clean the whole place was. Even the visitation room was clean. You could probably eat off the floors. I wondered if it was the inmates who cleaned it. The room was small and empty, only two guards on duty, one at each side. I doubted this was the community room. Was Shawn a special case? Was he not allowed to be near the other visitors?

Goosebumps crawled over my skin. The air felt heavy— or was that just me?

"Well, well, well, who do we have here?"

My heart jumped straight into my throat. He's behind me. Forcibly swallowing, I slowly turned, coming face-to-face with Shawn.

"Miss me?" he asked, his smirk stretching across his face, arms folded across his chest.

I opened my mouth to speak, but nothing came out. I realized I was scared. My hands were shaking, so I formed them into fists, hoping Shawn didn't notice. Maybe I didn't think this through enough.

I wished Chris were here with me.

"Where's Chris?" Shawn asked, turning his attention to Isaac. Recognition crossed his face. "Oh? Isaac is it?"

"Shawn," Isaac greeted him.

"And Aaron's here too... what, are we having a party?" Shawn grinned. "If only they would take the handcuffs off." He raised his hands, which were shackled together by handcuffs.

Knowing he was secured made me feel a little more relieved. I found my voice. "I've got some questions for you."

He gave me a bored look. "What could you possible want from me? You already know what my motives war. I'm in jail. I can't see how you want anything else from me."

"It's not about what happened earlier this year," I told him, standing a little straighter. "It's about what's happening now."

His expression didn't change. "Now?"

"I was told the gang is getting back together," Isaac spoke up, earning Shawn's attention. "Is it true?"

"If I knew, why in the world would I tell you? To try to ease my troubled soul?"

I narrowed my eyes at him. "If you know something, tell me."

"You're trying to act intimidating? That's cute. I can too." Without warning, he quickly closed the distance between us, shoving his chest into my chest. I stumbled backwards, Isaac catching my shoulder.

"Hey!" Aaron protested, making sure the guards weren't alerted.

My pulse raced in my veins. If he tried to attack me, he'd be detained and we'd lose all chance of talking to him. I had to be careful. "Shawn, tell me. Is there someone trying to get the gang back together?"

"What will you do for me if I tell you? You know, this places allows conjugal visits..."

I stared at him flatly. "No thanks. Just answer me."

"Little Holly, so demanding," he tutted.

"Wouldn't it be better for you to not have the gang reform? What if it somehow got linked to you?" I asked, challenging him. "They could extend your jail sentence. What if I said you were telling Aaron to tell members out there to break you out? I don't know how bad maximum security jails are..."

Shawn's eyes darkened. "Are you threatening me?"

Isaac touched my shoulder. "Holly."

"What if a cute girl like me came crying to the jail with a black eye saying that you told a man to attack me one the streets because I'm the one who threw you in here?" The words were just coming out of my mouth. I wasn't thinking. All I know is that I had to provoke Shawn.

"He wouldn't dare link this to me," Shawn growled.

My eyes widened. "He?"

"And don't you dare do anything," Shawn added, reaching up with his cuffed hands and grabbing onto my shirt. "You should know I'm not against hitting a girl."

He pulled my shirt hard, the collar digging into my skin and effectively cutting off my airflow.

"Knock it off," Aaron hissed, pushing Shawn back.

Shawn let go of my shirt, but not before swinging both his hands up and hitting me square in the jaw with the edge of one of the cuffs. My hiss of pain got the guard to notice and he immediately shot forward and snatched Shawn, yanking him backwards.

"It was an accident," Aaron was saying.

"Who is it?" I demanded, glaring at Shawn. "Who's he?"

Shawn gave me a cold smile. "You'll find out the day he comes knocking on Heywood's door."

"That's enough," the guard said.

"We're having a friendly talk," Shawn responded in a mocking tone. "Right Holly?"

I forced myself to stay calm. I'd probably need more out of Shawn at some point. I couldn't mess things up now.

"Yeah, it was just a friendly talk," I said through gritted teeth.

The guard seemed skeptical. "You guys should go for today. Say your goodbyes."

"It was good seeing you, Isaac," Shawn said, nodding his head. "And I'll probably see you around Aaron."

Aaron at least looked ashamed at that. Good.

"Holly, if Chris is still around next time you decide to visit, bring him with you," Shawn continued, sounding amused. "See you."

His last words made me uneasy. If Chris was still around? Was someone actually trying to get the gang back together? And did they want to get rid of Chris?

I turned to Isaac. He appeared as troubled as I felt.

So much for leaving the gang thing in the past.

_______________________________________________

Hey guys!!WOW. It's been so long!! Sorry for leaving you hanging! I just really wanted to finish up AES! Which is done YAY! So I'll be focusing more on this! I can't believe how interested you guys still are!! I really appreciate it and I hope it doesn't get boring or repetitive!Have any of you bought APR! I'm making collages and stuff and doing a project for school so I would love any pictures of you and the book! You can send them to me on FB, Twitter, or tag me in them on Instagram!

My twitter / Instagram handle is: @JordanLynde_

All that information is also on my profile! As is the giveaway links for the Wattpad Block Party! If you haven't checked my post out for it, it's got a Q&A with the cast of APR and a new chapter in Chris's POV! You should check it out :) It's under KellyAnneBlount's profile! There's also a bunch from other author as well!

Please vote and comment! I love you guys' support! I won't disappear again!!!!

P.S sorry for the style!! But when I copy paste my stuff from Word it just becomes one giant block with no indents or spaces and it's impossible to read. And then I can't enter any spaces or hit enter ): So this is the only way the formatting is remotely readable. I'm sad too...