I heard them. They were there.

But was it too late?
I prayed and prayed.

I could hear the police sirens blaring outside and I saw the blue and red lights flashing into my windows. Taylor was in my room all of a sudden. She looked panicked. “What do you think is going on?”

“Someone’s getting murdered.”

“What?!” Taylor exclaimed.

“My friend. He’s going to get murdered tonight. If he isn’t already.”

“Tianna? What’s going on?” Taylor said, sweeping up beside me next to the window.

I took a breath, and with a terrified, numb voice, I explained everything that had happened in the past two weeks. She would’ve never known if I didn’t tell her. She was more and more horrified at each detail. Her face was white and she began to cry.

“Tianna, I’m scared.”

“Calm down, Taylor,” I replied. “The police will take care of it.”
But I wasn’t 100% sure. Please, I made my devotions, please let Ryan live.

I heard Ryan scream.
Leaped out of my hiding place.
Pulled the knife out of my back pocket.
Stood over Ryan.
Knife over his neck.

“Be quiet,” I said harshly.

He screamed again.
I dug the knife into his throat.

He whimpered.

“Be quiet,” I said again, relaxing my knife arm. “Be quiet.”
“What do you want?” Ryan said, heedless of the knife that then pressed deeper into his porcelain skin.

“Why didn’t you rescue me?” I snarled through clenched teeth.

“Rescue you from what? What the **** is wrong with you?” Ryan whined.

Blood started to stain my knife. I compressed the knife deeper. I needed more blood.
“I was hypnotized by your girlfriend!” I exclaimed.

“Elori?” Ryan cried.

“Yes, her.” I nodded. “She wiped out my memory!!”

“What?”

“Don’t act like you don’t remember! That day! That day when you abandoned me with no name and no life!”

“…Rihanna…?”

“You remember. That day on the hill. I forgot about you. And then you forgot about me. You left me there alone, immobile, for dead. You didn’t help me or anything. I could’ve died. Now you’re going to step into my shoes for a second-” The tip of the blade was digging a deep hole in Ryan’s skin.

His face contorted with suffering and his mouth spread open in a silent sob. “R-Rihanna, please…” And before he knew what he was saying-”Why didn’t you go after Elori instead?”

I froze.
“Why didn’t I go after Elori instead!?” I shrieked. “Because I know how it feels to be compared to someone else. I loved you. She loved you. You loved us! No. Too little, too late. I would’ve done the same if I was Elori.“

Ryan didn’t say anything, his eyes closed.

“I know how it feels to be second-best.”

“You were never second-best,” Ryan finally said.
Blood gushed from his wound and Ryan let out a scream.
“I was never second-best?! Then how come you chose Elori over me when I was paralyzed!? If you truly loved me, then you wouldn’t leave me for dead.” I plunged in the knife before I knew what I was doing. Ryan’s head fell to one side.

What have I done?
Letting out a shriek of terror, I dropped the blade and sprinted out.

Smile lightly into the kiss.
“Why do you love me, Patrick?” I couldn’t resist asking.

Patrick’s eyes were lined up directly to mine, blue versus blue.
“Why do you have to ask?” Patrick leaned onto my lips again.

“I’ve only been near you a few times,” I remarked softly, brushing my hair fitfully out of my face in spite of the situation.

“I know,” Patrick replied, laughing quietly. “But…I like scene girls.”

“What?” I exclaimed, pulling away. “That’s all?”

Patrick laughed louder, putting his hands around my waist. “I’m joking.”

“Oh,” I said, giving him the ‘ORLY?’ face. I kissed him again. “But seriously.”

“I love you. I loved you from the start,” Patrick murmured. “You’re so pretty and smart and so my type.” Patrick looked up at my through his glasses and smiled innocently.

“Really?” I was blushing insanely.

“Really.” Patrick said. “I don’t care about anything else when I’m around you.”

I smiled. “Not even Rihanna and Ryan?”

“Not even Rihanna and Ryan,” Patrick echoed. “You’re all that matters to me right now”♥

I knew it. I still loved Ryan.

Why did I leave him? He was gorgeous and sweet and talented…but he was so dense! But I loved him so much. You know, love? That thing that makes you dizzy and you can’t say anything even though you want to say everything and when you see that one person you feel like running away and kissing them at the same time?

I loved Ryan. I still loved Ryan.

So why had I given up his life for my own?

I was as ridiculous as Ryan was. Or maybe more.

We would still be together if I hadn’t blown up about his talking to that fangirl. Why was I so angry all the time? We would have still been together.

Of course, he would still be in love with that chick.
Or was he in love?

The girl was 13. He was 19.
6 years in between. There was no way. Ryan wouldn’t go for a girl like that…

The Ryan I knew wouldn’t.
Ryan was different lately.
I was different lately.

I sat on the front step, wrapped up in a blanket, staring at the night sky.
I loved you Ryan. I still love you.
I prayed for him the entire night, because I was too weak to do anything. What a waste of a human.

I was at my house, alone, silent.

Worried.

What about Ryan? I hoped and prayed that he would be alright. He hadn’t let me follow him back to his house for some reason and I didn’t want to get him upset.

“Tianna! Stay back. I can handle this by myself.”
“No, Ryan! I can help you!!”
“You’re only a little kid, Tianna. Please.” Ryan’s death stare with those beautiful brown eyes were all I could take. I slowly backed away and ran to my house – where I was now.

I was thinking about Elori. Had she done it on purpose, the telling to Rihanna where Ryan lived. This was so messed up. I had to save him. But how? I was just  a little kid. I couldn’t do anything. But…call the cops, maybe?

Why hadn’t I thought of it before?

I quickly picked up the cell phone sitting beside my bed and dialed 9-1-1. In a panic, I hurriedly told the police everything I knew, and they told me they’d be at Ryan’s house as soon as possible. I put down the phone.

All I could do was pray that they would get there in time.

Coverted in the silky blackness underneath the trees behind Ryan Ross’s house, I was silent as a night owl swooping down on her prey.

I could hear nothing. Night had soon fallen upon the city and everyone was nestled in the warm bassinet of sleep. Besides me. I was alert and awake, even through the countless insomniac nights I’d helplessly endured.

Where was Ryan?

Do you think he knew?

But how?

It was impossible. I lied in wait, in my short black dress, black stockings, and elbow-length black gloves. I wore a black beret and I completely camoflouged in with the extremely black scenery.

It’d been a few hours and I could now see nothing. Finally, I heard a tiny click-click-click noise and I peered around the house to see Ryan trying to tiptoe into his house, glancing this way and that. He knew I was near. He knew it.

As he slowly, quietly pushed open his front door, I started to scale the walls of his house. I climbed onto the roof, and slid in through a hole in the ceiling that only an extremely thin person could fit into (I’d inspected his house before Ryan had appeared). Dropping through the second floor of the house, I slowly slipped into his room, inching myself all the way under a little bedside table with a tiny black patch of tablecloth that I could easily slip under.

After a few minutes, I heard Ryan slowly walked into his room, looking around suspiciously. He looked extremely afraid. Carefully, he began to gather up his most treasured things and it all went well for him – until, from the corner of his eye, he saw the glint of a knife.

◊Drk’s Pov◊

Through the corner of my blue eyes I could see Hayley’s stupid, shocked face. “W-What?” she cried.

“I already told you,” Patrick smiled, still looking at her. “I’m already in love.” Eyes darkening, he added, “So get lost.”

“B-But…” Tears started forming in Hayley’s eyes and I smirked in satisfaction.

Patrick suddenly looked annoyed but said in a calmer tone, “Please leave.” And so Hayley turned and stormed off, hair flying around everywhere, mumbling and such.

Still staring into Patrick’s eyes, I murmured, “So..who is it that you love?”

Patrick stared back at me with a confused expression. “What could you mean?”

“What do you mean what do I mean?” I asked, pushing my bangs out of my eyes.

Patrick gave a little snort of derision. “I just tried to kiss you, didn’t I?” When I didn’t answer, he continued: “Of course it’s you!”

I bit my lip and smiled, tears forming at the corners of my eyes. “Me?” I looked down.

Patrick nodded, putting his arm around me again. He grinned. “Yes, you,” he whispered, and pressed his lips to mine.

♦Melissa’s Pov♦

Nikki hung outside for a few moments, then slowly walked away. She knew that Ashlee expected something. How, though? Before any of this she had been fine with Nikki. Or had she? Through Nikki’s mind brief thoughts flashed, of times when she had ruffled Pete’s hair or merely laughed at a joke, when Ashlee had sent her looks of anger and jealousy.

Nikki was silent. What had made her so angry now, though?

Nikki’s hands were in pockets as she ambled down the street. She looked across, spying Ryan and two little kids. She smiled and waved. He looked up with a blotchy, tearstained face and bit his lip. He began to walk again without another glance.

Nikki wanted to see what was wrong. She looked both ways and crossed the street. “What’s up, Ryan?” Nikki asked him.

“I’m dead,” Ryan huffed.

“…What?” I asked, furrowing my brow.

“I’m dead.” Ryan repeated. “Southwick’s going to kill me.”

“Southwick?”

“Southwick.” muttered Ryan. “Rihanna. Elori told her where I lived and now she’s going to kill me if I don’t get all my stuff away and move in time.”

I couldn’t speak, and if I could, I didn’t know what to say. Luckily, Ryan and the girls started to leave. I watched them go.

Ryan…dead? There was something I had to do about this. I streamed straight for the police office even though I had no idea if Rihanna actually would do it, or where, and how. I had to figure this out.

♦Nev’s Pov♦

“Of course I do,” Ryan snorted almost angelically, if possible.

“Why haven’t you tried?” Anna pursed her lips.

“Dunno.”

Anna and I sighed at the same moment. “Well, Ryan, if-” Suddenly I was cut off by semi-loud but pained squealing.

Anna, Ryan, and I looked around. It seemed to be coming from a ways down the block, because it didn’t sound as if it came right next to my house. “Uhmm..should we check it out?” Ryan asked.

“Of course,” Anna answered promptly, and led the way by leaping outside. I quickly followed but it took Ryan a second before he followed suit.

I bet it was a strange sight for people walking around outside – two 15-year-old girls running along the walk with a grown man chasing after them, but we didn’t care.

We passed by the house that the pained yelp had come from, and Ryan bit his lip as he read the inscription on the mailbox. “Emerson,” he muttered aloud. “It’s Elori.”

We looked in the window (stalkers, I thought to myself with a giggle.) and saw a girl with blonde pigtails with a pale hand around Elori’s neck, but as soon as we reached the window, the blonde girl’s hand pulled away from her neck. “Is it true?” she whispered.

“It…it is true.” Elori said, tears streaming down her cheeks.

“I recognize that voice,” Ryan muttered. “Who is it?”

Anna shrugged and I hissed “Shut up.” We continued watching intently.

Elori and the girl kept staring at each other. “Rihanna…” Elori muttered, “What are you going to do to him?”

“I don’t know,” the girl, Rihanna, said. “I’ll find out.” Suddenly she turned around and snaked out the door. All three of us quickly crammed under the windowsill so she couldn’t see us.

When we were sure the strange lady had gone, we brushed the leaves off ourselves and Ryan knocked on the door. We heard a squeak and then a pained “Who is it?”

“It’s…it’s Ryan.”

Elori opened the door. Her cheeks were tearstained and red and her lower eyelids were drooping. She was whimpering. “W-why are you here, R-Ryan?” She looked devastated to see him.

“I heard this…scream…from over at my house.”

“Oh.” Elori said, a little quiet.

“Was that..um..Rihanna?” Ryan asked.

“Y-yes, it w-was.” Elori muttered between sniffles.

“What did she want?” Ryan bit his lip.

“She…she wanted to know where you lived.” Elori sobbed. I thought it best not to say anything to interrupt the moment between the exes.

Ryan gasped and a faraway look in his yellow eyes emerged. He didn’t say anything for a while, just stared at Elori with his mouth hung open. “A-and…d-did you tell her?”

“I…I d-did,” Elori said, not meeting Ryan’s eyes.

I felt a rush of horror static in between the two. I was confused, though I did not question.

Ryan fell to his knees. “How..how could you do this to me? You know I’m dead now. I…I have to…I have to move…”

“Move?!” I interrupted finally. “What do you mean move?! We…we just met..!!”

Ryan turned around and bared his teeth. “Would you rather have me away and alive, or..away, but dead?”

I whimpered; it was the first time he’d been angry. “…Alive.” I had no choice.

Ryan turned back to Elori and snarled, “I can’t believe you, Elori…” His voice was heavy with pain, not anger. “You..you betrayed me. Do you know what’s going to happen to me?”

“W-what?” Elori murmured.

“If I don’t get away from this town fast enough…Rihanna will kill me.”