Young Queen

FORTY SEVEN

Aria groaned beside him, "Just don't go. I know you didn't sleep much."

"How did you know that?" he asked her.

"Because I know you very well," she told him, opening one eye to look at him.

He shook his head, smiling. "I guess a couple more hours wouldn't hurt."

Leo woke up feeling refreshed but confused by Aria's missing presence in the spot next to him. The sun was shining brightly through the window now, which wasn't usually the case at seven in the morning. He grabbed his phone, and his heart almost leaped out of his chest when he realized it was noon.

He jumped out of bed as soon as Damon began calling him. "Damon, I know I'm up late. I'm on my way to the offi-" Leo began, but Damon quickly cut him off.

"You need to come down to the school right now and bring the clean-up crew," Damon's voice spoke over the phone.

"Where is Aria? Is she okay?" Leo asked in a rushed voice, throwing on the first pair of clothes he could find which was a pair of sweats, a white t-shirt, and a gray hoodie.

Damon hesitated for a second before responding, "Just hurry up and get down here."

___________________

Aria didn't miss being in school, and she wished she could be back at home sleeping next to Leo. She was going to wake him up when she did, but she couldn't bring herself to, especially when she watched his peaceful snoring face. His lips were slightly parted and drool dribbled out the side of his mouth. She thought it was adorable.

Her classes were passing by quickly, and she met up with Victoria and Elena, but Claire was nowhere to be seen. Aria had texted her but hadn't received anything back yet. That was until the 4th period when she received a text from an unknown number.

It read:

Hey, it's Claire, was getting a new phone this morning. Can you meet me in the music room?

Aria was confused but didn't think anything of it because Claire usually had music in the mornings. She made her way to the music room before class began, and saw the hallway was completely deserted. Aria opened the door to the music room, and walked in, hearing the door close behind her. It was empty and the lights were off, which wasn't unusual considering music wasn't taught during this period.

"Claire, are you here?" Aria asked. It was quiet, and the lights were off. Aria turned them on and wandered around the room. "Claire c'mon, I have class."

She waited and still heard nothing. "Ugh, fuck this," she said, walking out of the room. She wasn't going to test her luck with the creepy vibe in the empty music room.

She began walking back towards the large, wooden double doors, just to find herself falling forward when something struck the back of her head. Her eyesight went blurry, and the pain intensified as she groaned out. She quickly turned around, her head spinning as she did so.

The man in front of her was someone she had never seen before, and she knew she was in danger. He had a deep scowl on his face, and a baseball bat in his hands. Her eyes widened as he lifted the bat to strike her again, but this time she threw herself on top of him.

They fell on the ground, rolling around as Aria attempted to take the bat out of his hands. He pushed her off of him, rising to his feet as he stood over her body. She panicked, looking around the room to find anything she could use against him. The teacher's desk was directly behind her, so she grabbed the first things she saw and began throwing them at him. There was a stapler, a container with pens and pencils, a computer, she threw whatever she could as quickly as she could.