♣

ONE HOUR EARLIER...

"I want to leave."

At first, it didn't feel real, but now that it had been a few hours and it had time to sink in, it finally dawned on Sophie. Somebody was murdered in her neighborhood. The police were unsure what could have done it, but what was sure was that while AJ did find the body, between what time they were shown to have left from the ring doorbell camera and the severity of the murder, they would have had no time to cause that level of damage. And they were also sure that whoever did that had to be one sick fuck.

The body wasn't just stabbed. It wasn't just shot. It was mutilated.

And the last thing that Sophie wanted to do was stay in the neighborhood of the crime.

"Where do you want to go?" Abigail inquired. She had brought Sophie a knit blanket handmade by her grandmother and told her that she could keep it, despite Sophie insisting that she was fine. As evident by her tugging on the sides to keep herself warm, Sophie was glad she brought it anyway.

"I don't really care."

"We can go to my house if you'd like?" she offered. "We're having lasagna for dinner, but I can ask my mom to make it without meat."

Sophie grinned. "Thanks, Abby."

Abigail joined Sophie on top of the counter of their kitchen island. "Do you want to talk about it?"

"Not particularly."

Abigail put her hand on top of Sophie's. "You're safe. I promise. You have all of us."

Sophie's glance directed towards the three boys seated at the kitchen table. Daniel had been trying to stand up a piece of paper on its side, while Sawyer kept blowing it down and Oscar watched in amusement. "I feel so safe," she said, deadpan.

Sophie didn't try to judge Daniel, but it did confuse her how easily he was able to move on. Everyone had different ways of coping, Sophie knew this, but Daniel didn't seem to be worried at all. He had invited Sawyer over, and when Oscar had showed up to check on them, he thought it was silly that he even worried that much. Part of her knew that he was dealing with it somehow, but another part of her felt ashamed for being so thrown off by it.

Abigail, noticing Sophie's change in expression, gripped her hand. "They're distracting themselves," she explained.

"From what? The fact that someone in our class was murdered?"

Abigail, seemingly unsure what to say, shrugged. "Yeah, I guess." She paused. "Want me to get their attention?"

Sophie shook her head quickly. "Don't worry about it. I'll be fine. I just want to leave."

Abigail nodded in acknowledgment. "Got it." She looked from Sophie to the boys, then back. "I'm going to... get you some water."

As Abigail stood up, Sophie heard footsteps entering the room. She peered up, and was met with the very confused face of her brother.

"When'd they get here?" he asked.

"Hello to you too, Mason," said Daniel with a smirk. When Mason made eye contact with him, he rolled his eyes.

"Hi, Daniel." Being next-door neighbors, Daniel was probably at Sophie's house more than anyone else, so Mason has had copious amounts of time to get to know the kid. And Daniel has had copious amounts of time to pester the living hell out of him. "Shouldn't you be with your family?"

"Naw. They let me go. Thought I'd be safer in a house with a security system."

Mason nodded with false interest, making his way over to the fridge, but turning around before opening it. He pointed at Oscar.

"Where do you fall in?" he asked.

Oscar raised his eyebrows. "Me?"

"Yeah. I haven't seen you around here. Are you one of their boyfriends? You hers?" Mason pointed at Abigail, who had just gotten a glass of water from the sink. She blushed.

"My girlfriend's name is Emma."

"Oh, do I know her?" Oscar asked excitedly.

"No, she's my age. And she lives in Nebraska."

Mason rubbed his forehead. He opened the fridge and grabbed the orange juice. "Je ne peux pas suivre ces jours-ci..." he murmured. Sophie rolled her eyes.

"Mason, where's your girlfriend?" she asked. "Waiting for you somewhere?"

He unscrewed the lid and poured himself a glass. "I can take a hint," he said. Without putting away the juice, he stepped out of the room and walked up the stairs.

Daniel clapped his hands together. "So, are we still up for today?"

Sawyer furrowed his brows. "What do you mean?"

"Finishing the movie!"

There was a silence that filled the room. "Daniel..." Oscar started.

"You're kidding, right?" Abigail asked.

"What?" Daniel's expression dropped when he saw their faces.

Sawyer stood up, slamming his hands against the table. "There is no way in hell that you are thinking of making a goddamn horror movie right now," he interjected.

"It's due–"

"I don't care when it's due. We are not making a horror movie right now."

"Sawyer. Listen," said Daniel. Sawyer raised his eyebrows. "I'm done with that part."

"Then you're done."

Daniel sighed. "I need B-Roll. You don't have to come–"

"I'm not."

"–but I need outside and inside shots of the shop. Maybe some with Caleb and Kal working. Whatever."

Oscar cleared his throat. "Um, Daniel, I know this is really important to you, but now's not exactly the best time. We're not all, well, we're all still processing this–"

"I'll do it."

The group seated at the table turned to the girl under the blanket. "Sophie, you don't have to," Abigail reasoned.

"No. We started this. We should finish it. Plus, it's due tomorrow, right?"

Daniel smiled awkwardly. "Sophie, we don't–"

"It's fine," she insisted.

Everyone in the room knew that it wasn't totally fine, but none of them wanted to contradict her then. Daniel called Theo to ask for a ride, and Sawyer and Oscar fiddled in their seats, attempting not to look in either Sophie or Daniel's general direction.

"We can go to the ice cream store around the corner after," Abigail offered. "They have vegan strawberry, I think."

Sophie offered her a small smile. Though ice cream wouldn't totally make a difference in her mood, just the fact that Abigail tried was enough for her mind to settle for a moment.

♣

Quinn and Theo had never met Cameron personally. In full honesty, they had no idea who they were prior to hearing the news. However, they knew that Sophie and Daniel had. Even worse, it happened right next to their houses. So, when Sophie requested Theo to drive them all to the antique shop, Theo naturally said yes. Quinn had already been at their house studying, so the two were on a fifteen minute drive to her house at that moment.

It had been awkward at first–neither was sure who was going to break the ice–but Quinn and Theo decided it was best to not think too much on something they know nothing about. Besides, the conversation had naturally shifted from that subject to musical theatre.

"Wait, is that a good thing?" Theo asked.

"I think so," they responded. "Elf makes a surprisingly good musical."

"Is it because I'm tall?"

"No! You're funny. Elf is funny. It reminds me of you. I saw this production of it at one of the other high schools, and Buddy looked exactly like you. I did have to check the program a few times to make sure you didn't secretly join theatre without telling me."

Theo won the next. "I think you'd be surprised by my singing skills, actually."

"You can sing?" Quinn asked in awe. "Why didn't you tell me?"

"It's my secret double identity." They flipped invisible hair over their shoulder, immediately putting their hand back on the steering wheel afterwards. "I'm going to be on Broadway one day."

"We can be on Broadway together!" Quinn exclaimed. "Maybe we can be Jeremy and Christine, but they're both nonbinary!"

Theo raised an eyebrow. "Isn't Jeremy the tall one?"

"Well, yes, technically, but he at least has to be taller than Rich for it to make sense!"

"Okay, so Abigail's definitely Rich. Got it."

"No, Abigail's definitely Jenna. Daniel is Rich. Here, let me show you his song." They grabbed Theo's phone and went onto their music player, typing in a song. Theo smiled. While they didn't know what Quinn was talking about half of the time, it didn't bother them. In fact, they enjoyed it. The alternative could be Quinn not telling them anything, and they definitely didn't want that.

Once the song ended, Theo asked, "What's your club doing this year?"

"I don't know yet! They're telling us in a few days. We just finished doing a Shakespeare in the Park production of A Midsummer's Nights Dream, but the musical auditions should happen in late December."

"Can they do this show?"

Quinn laughed. "I wish. They don't really have... well, they don't have men. Practically everyone in A Midsummer's Night's Dream was played by one of the girls. Ironically, I was the female lead–"

"Can't they just do that for the show?"

Quinn groaned. "I wish. But they'll probably do something like... like Little Woman. Even then, our only men are, like, freshmen."

"Do you know if I can join?"

Quinn's eyes lit up. "Really?"

"I mean, Daniel's thing was kind of fun. I've never really acted before onstage, but I mean, why not?"

Quinn started shaking their fists and kicking their feet. "Oh my gosh, yes! Finally! You have no idea how long I've wanted one of you guys to try it out! I've tried to get Daniel to do tech but he always said he wasn't interested and Sawyer–well, you know–and Sophie and Abigail weren't allowed to and, and, you're going to love it!"

Theo grinned as they pulled into Sophie's driveway. Sure, part of them just wanted to make Quinn happy, but another part of them was genuinely interested in the club. They had never performed, but doing the project with Daniel, well, they realized they weren't actually a bad actor. In fact, it kind of came naturally to them.

"Would they let me wear a dress?" they asked nervously.

Quinn raised an eyebrow. "If we can do a play about a man turning into a donkey and a bunch of fairies fall in love with him, you can wear a dress."

♣

Theo's car had five seats. Usually that wasn't that much of an issue because Abigail could sit between Sophie and Daniel–she hardly even needed a seat. However, Oscar needed more room than the rest of them, so Sophie coaxed Mason into driving two of them. With five bucks. Sawyer hadn't expected to be the one to go with Oscar, but looking back, it made the most sense. He was practically the only one that had spoken to Oscar outside of the group besides Theo, and while Quinn gets along with them well, they had already called shotgun in Theo's car.

Sawyer didn't mind the other car. What he did mind was having to sit next to Mason the whole way. He didn't necessarily dislike the guy, but he always felt like he was judging him.

"I've seen you around," Mason said after an initial car ride of silence.

"Yeah?" Oscar asked, surprised that the guy was speaking to him.

"Yeah. You hang around those kids that throw meatballs at the ceiling."

Sawyer felt his heart stop, but Oscar laughed. "Oh, oh yeah, they do that."

"Why?"

He shrugged. "They're... interesting."

"So, what's your deal?"

"Huh?"

"You never told me. How'd ya meet my sister?"

"Oh! Well, I knew Theo first. Then they introduced me to her and everyone else. They seem really nice. Definitely closer than Todd and the rest of those guys. Don't know how they manage it."

"You've got yourself into some real shit."

Oscar's face retained a smile, but his brows furrowed. "I beg your pardon?"

"From what I've seen, you hang out with Sophie's group once, and you have a lifetime membership."

Sawyer could argue, but he honestly wasn't wrong.

Mason looked in the mirror to get a view of the kid in the back. "What's your name, by the way?"

"Oscar. Walsh."

"Oscar Walsh?" Sawyer attempted to settle his stomach. Something about the tone of Mason's voice worried him.

"Yeah? What, ya heard about me?" Oscar joked, but appeared to have immediately regretted it.

"Naw. Well, I mean, yeah. A few things. But nothing serious."

Oscar's face went slightly pink. "Yeah. Yeah, that happens," he said with a chuckle that faded quickly.

Mason kept a serious face. "Well, do you know an Eddie Wilkens?"

"Wilkens?"

"Yeah. He has a brother. He's your age, I think."

"Yeah. I know him."

Oscar's permanent smile faded. He stared out of the window, eyes not seeming to be focused on anything in particular. Whether Mason was originally going to continue his conversation was unclear, because he shut his mouth and kept driving. Sawyer attempted to keep his eyes forward, but they kept darting to Oscar in the mirror. Though they haven't talked for too long, Sawyer had never really seen him sad before. And maybe that wasn't what this was, but he definitely wasn't happy.

Sawyer was not ignorant to what their school was like. As much as their teachers liked to preach acceptance, they could do nothing to stop kids from picking on others. While Oscar seemed to be generally liked, he couldn't imagine the things people say about him–or even to him. Having crutches and being open about your sexuality? Two things that stupid high schoolers don't understand, and therefore, don't like.

Sawyer wanted to say something, to clear the dense air in that car, but he couldn't think of anything that could lighten the situation. He could not wait till he got his license. In about two years.

♣

His arms were cold. His face was hot. And his hair could not stay out of his face due to the tornado that was currently pursuing him.

Daniel was always blessed with the ability to have lucid dreams. At least, he thought it was a blessing. It was like having a front row seat to a movie. No–a seat in a movie. His dreams led to more movie ideas than he could count, and even the ones that ended up on the chopping block left him vastly entertained.

This dream was one of his most vivid yet–he could feel the wind from the twister through his clothes, down his throat as he took a breath in. The temperature simply could not make up its mind despite the fact that they were in the middle of a desert. And his heavy hoodie and jeans were not helping when the weather decided to pass the 100th degree, sweat pooling in the creases of the fabric surrounding his body.

They could stop running. They could let the tornado take them. It wouldn't matter, anyways–that would just cause him to wake up quicker. However, he wanted to see how this was going to go.

He could hear voices in the distance, and he assumed they were the voices of his friends' talking around his sleeping body. He couldn't make out what they were saying, but he could pick out Theo's sarcastic tone anywhere.

The tornado's winds grew louder, the body doubling in size. Daniel looked around his surroundings, but when he saw nothing but sand stretching to all lines of sight, he let out a large sigh. "This is lame!" he yelled, taking a big gasp of air while picking up the pace. Usually by then, the scenery would've changed, or at the very least a nonsensical plot point would've made its way into the narrative. But no, he was just Dorothy running away from a twister in the middle of a desert. A plot that had no literary merit or potential.

Before Daniel could even stop running, his eyes flew open. After a moment of adjusting, he took in his surroundings: the car door was open, and Quinn and Theo were surrounding him, Theo's arm on his shoulder and face a few inches away.

"Finally! Geez, man, you're a heavy sleeper," they said, laughing and backing up.

"Huh?" Daniel asked, voice breaking and eyes squinted.

"You weren't waking up. We were getting a bit worried, not gonna lie." Quinn nodded in agreement.

"We thought you had died. Like, we never saw someone fall asleep so quickly before. Theo was going to call an ambulance."

Theo shoved Quinn. "I bet Kal and Caleb have some very comfortable blankets in the store if you want to continue your dream."

Daniel laughed a little bit. "No, it was lame as hell. Are we here?"

"Yep. Come on."

Daniel got out of the car and stood beside Quinn as Theo closed and locked it. He looked at them, but his mind was elsewhere. Not only had he not remembered falling asleep, but he didn't even remember feeling tired. It wouldn't have been a means to worry if he didn't always take hours to fall asleep at night. Maybe it was his brain's way of coping with the situation. If so, maybe that would explain his rather tame dream.

Daniel took a deep breath. There was no point in overthinking. He was going to finish his movie, and it was going to blow all of the other sophomore's procrastinated pieces of shit out of the ballpark.

♣

after chapter note -

wow! already on chapter seven! this book has already been such a journey and i'm excited to get further into it! 

now, for some "first impressions." most of the characters have been decently introduced, so do you have any ships? predictions? maybe parts that you really like or even parts you don't like? 

hope you enjoyed the chapter!

-nicholas