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Andy

Alibi.

”I taught you all about breakin' hearts... I didn't know that you would take it that far. I can't believe that after all these years, I would be the one to make you disappear.”
- Fuck You and All Your Friends - Falling in Reverse



“So here’s how it’s gonna go down.” I tell him animatedly as we proceed to walk across the last block of neighborhood houses deviding us from the high school. I’d put the whole past half hour into thinking of all the wonderfully mean things we could do, and have since composed a nice list.

“What?”

“First, we’ll get into his room, and then we’ll wait... Or! Maybe we should tail him from the school to boost his sense in insecurity.”

“You’ve got this all figured out, haven’t you?” he asks with an amused smirk, looking down at me from the corner of his eye.

“Of course,” I reply impatiently. “Reece has done wrong, and now comes his punishment.”

“I take it there’s no ‘second chances’ rule in your book, is there? No forgiveness?” He wonders jokingly and I shake my head seriously, “No. Not for him, not for people like him. I don’t have patience for people who beat the innocent to get out their own rage.”

He nods in agreement, urging me onward with my agenda.

“On that note, I want to make that miserable waffle bucket sorry for every wrong-doing he’s ever done.”

“Waffle bucket?”

“I don’t feel like cursing.” I mumble, annoyed by his constant interjections into my plan. “Anyways, we need him to feel like he’s meeting Satan himself. Can you do anything like that? Shape-shifting or something?”

“Do I look like Merlin?” He gives me a long, serious look before adding to his statement. “There are unexplored plains to my abilities - things I’ve to even begin discovering. No less, there is nothing in my current hand of tricks that could aid you in shape-shifting. Though, Ashley is an older, more experienced spirit. Maybe you could ask him to help, too, or ask for some tips on how to terrify the weak hearted.”

Our conversation ends there as we walk into the courtyard of the school, the grounds are bustling with all kinds of social activities.

“We’re a few minutes early,” I shrug, readjusting my backpack. “but I still can’t afford to be late. Let’s head in.”

The sun is glowing brilliantly down on school, as if it isn’t a horrific place to be. There’s a janitor working on the sidewalk, picking up withered pieces of water logged trash off the curb, tucking it into a black plastic bag.

“Good morning,” I greet him with a smile, which he returns with tired eyes.

I can hear an Ariana Grande song playing nearby, and briefly search for the source, assuming that it was coming from the crowd of excited teens sitting near the enterance, bent over a cell phone screen.

Avoiding the traffic, we head inside.

“Are you visible right now?” I ask him quietly, scanning the crowd lining the locker hall inside for any prying eyes.

“Of course... Though I don’t know for how long,” he admits, scratching the back of his neck, “I’m starting to get a mirgraine.”

“Don’t push yourself,” I scold gingerly, worry consuming my expression as I look over at him. “You don’t have to do that... Besides, it’ll probably start an unnecessary spectacle if someone notices a guy who isn’t a current student wandering around. Plus, someone might recognize your face from the newspaper, and that’s the last thing we need.”

“Teens are too consumed by their phones and social cliques to look at a newspaper, let alone read the obituaries.” he replies dismissively.

“What about the teachers?” I challenge with a smirk, “surely they still read the paper, and keep up with all social circles involving past and present families of the school - including yours.”

“Unlikely.”

“Okay, Mr. Smartass, explain to me why the day after your death, every class I attended memorialized you in some fashion? My History teacher knew you by name and shared some fond moments of having you in his class. It’s highly likely.”

He doesn’t retort, just grins at me briefly before closing his eyes in concentration, wavering out of existance in the middle of the busy hall.

“Did you have to do that in front of all these curious, big-mouthed morons?” I mumble to him, hurridly searching for signs that we’d been caught.

We arrive at my locker, and take a moment to exchange text books. After making sure I have everything, I shut my locker door and look down the hall. A few spaces down, I see Elizabeth, looking tired and stressed as she rummages through her locker for a few last minute things.

I hesitate, then inch towards her. She didn’t even notice me until I was standing right beside her, then she jumped at my sudden presence.

“Dammit, Ash, don’t do that!”

“Sorry...” I quickly apologize, feeling like an ass. “Hey Eliza, can we talk later? Like in private?”

She slams her locker and turns to face me, her expression very serious, but she lacks the stuck up authority that she usually brandishs when Reece is around. Now to just looks lonely and scared, trying to adapt to having no popular figure to hide behind.

“I don’t know, Ash... Are you going to hit me again?”

“I didn’t break your nose.” I growl, “We both know that. We also both know I wasn’t in the right frame of mind and you pushed me. I’m sorry for what happened - I really am. You know me, you know I’m not violent. That week was just... Bad.”

“Will you tell me the truth?” she asks, “Because I know you’ve been telling me a load of horseshit ever since the funeral of that kid. I don’t know what’s up with you, but I’m willing to bet it has something to do with him. Maybe no one else in the school lifts their heads from their phones long enough to realize what’s going on in front of them, but you’d have to be damn blind to deny the fact that that boy you brough in here yesterday beared an uncanny resemblance, don’t you think?”

Her grey eyes are piercing as she stares me down, cocking her head slightly, waiting for some sign of confirmation.

“Anyways, I hope whatever it is that you’re up to... Is at least safe. You’re not playing with oujia boards or cults or anything like that, are you?”

I shake my head, accidentally falling into her ruse. She smiles slightly, only the left corner of her mouth raising up in appraisal. “It is him.” she simply says with no furthr investigation, looking smug for a moment, then slightly more understanding. “But why? He’s rotting six feet underground in White Crest Cemetery.”

I purse my lips, my stomach churning nauseously, unsure of how to even reply. She was my best friend, I have to give her that much. But even then, before she had a vendetta against me, she had a big mouth that could easily spread rumors fast. I have to tread lightly and hold her at arms length.

“So can we talk later?” I reiterate my previous question, and after a moment of pondering, she nods. “Yeah, we can... Do you want to come by my house, or do you want me to come by yours?... Or we can settle it in the parking lot, I don’t care... Old habits die hard, you know...”

We stare at each other in silence for a moment, and a strong current of nostalgia pours over me, clearing my mind momentarily of all the horrible hardships between us, and I see only her as her good, kind, and caring self. The Elizabeth I had friended for so many years because of her easy-going, fun nature. Now we’re two strangers bickering in the school hallway, trying to outdo one another by waving boyfriends and bold insults in each other’s faces.

This isn’t us. I miss the us we had for so many years, no matter how fake and forced it often felt. I just want something back that reminds me of a time before all this nonsense came about. Elizabeth reminds me of being normal and how that felt, and it makes me all the more hesitant to invite her into my bizarre world, because once she’s apart of it, I have no more life rafts of reality to cling onto admidst the sea of all things peculiar and unusual.

“Yeah... I could come to yours if you want.”

“Okay... Cool.”

We stand there awkwardly a moment longer before the first bell rings and we’re fumbling with our backpacks.

“Can’t be late.” I say with a polite smile, rocking on my heels, trying to get the awkward departure to go faster. She nods, and heads on her way, “I’ll see you later, Ash.”

I watch her go, then rush to my class, sitting in my seat near the front before too many other students had arrived yet. Andy perched on my desk as usual, looking a little perplexed.

“That was bizarre,” he notes, narrowing his eyes a bit as he thinks about it, “but I’m glad you two are on decent terms now. One less thing that Reece fucker can spin his dirty fingers in.”

Class starts soon after, and I find myself actually able to focus on my work. Heck, I’m actually engaging in the class, raising my hand to questions and intently paying attention to the lecture. Strange, I haven’t felt this committed to school in weeks. I feel more relieved now, despite everything. I like to pay tribute to to our kiss-and-make-up session before class. It seems to have put my mind at ease.

At lunch, Elizabeth sits with her new clique. I hesitate, then carry on my way. We’re good now, yes, but it doesn’t change the fact that in my two week absence, life goes on, and so did everyone else. She met more friends, got out there, and it’s completely understandable that she would move on from her ‘abusive’ ex-best friend.

“So, about Reece...”

“Yes?”

“I was thinking we should do some poltergeist-esque stuff.” Andy suggests animatedly, wringing his hands on the tabletop. “like flickering lights, throwin’ shit, appearing in the mirror, oh, the fun we could have with the fucker!”

~~~


After gym concluded, I dodged to the girls’ locker room to return to my former gloomy self in a band shirt and worn jeans. A few weeks ago, it was unfathomable to wear anything other than cutsie dresses to school, even in the dead of winter, and trust me, my friend, when I say the Pendant winters were anything but kind.

I hear a lot of gossip going on around me, and choose to drown it out for the most part. I take a brief moment when no one is looking to go to the full body mirrors and inspect the burn prints on my arm again. Amidst my annoyance with Andy when he finally returned last night, telling him about it completely evaded my mind.

I kept twisting my skin to get a better look at the wounds. They were undoubtedly five distinct fingerprints, having left welted, red skin in their wake. I’ve yet to find a logical reason for them.

Pulling my shirt over my head, and then my hoodie, I grab my backpack from the bench, but not before noticing a sticky note stuck to the top flap. I begin fretting straight away, figuring it’s from a stalker I never knew I had until now.

Relief swells through my chest when I recognize the sloppy handwriting as Eliza’s.

6:35 is all that’s written on it. I process the number and memorize it before tucking into my backpack, and heading out into the main hall to meet up with my Biersack buddy.

“Hey fam.” I greet him cheerfully and he crinkles his nose in disgust. “Why do you have to use that word?”

“A better question is why not.” I disagree as we walk to the parking lot, “and anyways, I’ve gotta be to Elizabeth’s by 6:35.”

“Oh, good.”

“Good?” I echo in confusion.

“I had plans, and was trying to figure out how to incorporate them. So that’ll work. Don’t worry, I’ll be back in plenty of time to go after Reece.”

“You’re sure gone an awful lot.” I joke with narrowed eyes, “who’s the hot side chick? You cheatin’ on me?”

“Oh, God! You’ve caught me!”

I gasp, faking surprise. “I cannot believe you would do this to me. And after I gave you half of my cinnamon roll. I can gurantee it now, Andrew, you ain’t gonna find no woman who loves you like I do.”

“Righhttt...” He draws with a smirk, “because every girl is chasing a dead guy, professionally classified as a mythical beast.”

I snort, “Don’t worry, ever since Twilight came out, girls all over the world have been scouring every secluded corner of the planet in search of vampires and werewolves. You’ll fit in just fine. Just tell them you sparkle in the sun and you’ll have an adoring fanbase in no time.”

“Glad to get tips from a pro Twi-hard.”

“I wasn’t a Twi-hard...” I laugh dismissively, pausing, “I was on Team Jacob.”

“Oh God...” He groans, pressing his face into his hands, still maintaining a smooth, brisk walk without wandering into anything. I grow envious of his ability to wander without vision and have no trouble when I have trouble safely getting from one end of my house to the other without stubbing my toe.

There’s volunteers mulling around in the streets in neon vests, picking up trash, and trying to return the items that had washed out into the streets to their owners.

“What on earth did we do to deserve any of this?” I ponder idlly, watching the people work as we approach them. “It’s like the planets fell out of alignment or something.”

“Maybe it was me,” Andy half-heartedly joked, “I’m the reason the apocalypse will start.”

We laugh, but then it settles into my mind that despite everything I’d seen so far, that wasn’t such a terribly far-fetched thing to think. It’s just as possible as anything else, I suppose.

I mean, realistically, Andy went against all laws of death to be my friend. He’s done things no spirit in recorded history has done, and it wouldn’t be too surprising if his sudden rebellion against all those rules had caused some great upset in the world of all things scientifically understood.

But then, would that mean that there is indeed some higher power in control of things, if a single spirit falling out of line was enough to cause an upset in the routine of death.

“I’ve got an hour before I need to get to Elizabeth’s house... When do you need to leave?”

“About the same time,” he shrugs, “I don’t have anything of importance to attend to, just a few prepatory things, and maybe go visit my parents, I don’t know.”

I nod in understanding and briefly fall into silence before a new, troubling thought presents itself.

“What do you think is in the woods?”

He pauses, processing the question. “... What made you think of that?”

I shrug, “It just feels relevent, I guess... Things have been straight up weird ever since we first went there, you can’t deny that. It just feels so structured that after we went in there before going to California, that the strangest of things would start happening... Ashley coming back, clones of everyone we know on the loose, almost being drowned in the cellar, and this!”

I stop walking to wriggle out of my jacket.

“You’re gonna catch cold.” he sighs, crossing his arms, waiting patiently for me to explain myself.

I turn my back on him, and pull my elbow out, and show him the welted red marks on my arm. “These? They showed up after I was in the hospital. I don’t think these are coincidence.”

“Are those fingerprints?” he leans in to get a better look.

“I think so, but I don’t know how I got them, I mean, the only person who touched my arm that morning was-”

I stop and freeze, my fingers curling tight around my jacket in my hands. ... How had I not realized this sooner? I didn’t even piece it together.

“What? Who? Ash!”

He shakes my shoulder and I shake my head, looking at him with wide eyes. “The only person who touched my arm after I ended up in the hospital... Was Ashley.”

Notes

This story now consists of 678 pages, and 235,496 words and almost 100 chapters! The most of any story I've ever written.

Comments

I just want to say, I am here to support you no matter what you do <3

Mezzy18 Mezzy18
4/12/20

Oh gosh, I'm getting weird vibes towards this "sketchy" part of town.

Mezzy18 Mezzy18
5/8/19

I am absolutely in love with this book!

Mezzy18 Mezzy18
4/30/19

Poor Ashley. Poor Andy. Poor Asheen. Wow, what a story! :)

Merelan Merelan
4/29/19

I am conspiring so many theories about this book my head hurts... lol... anyway, great chapter as usual! Can't wait to read what happens next

Mezzy18 Mezzy18
4/25/19