𝐊𝐈𝐋𝐋 𝐆𝐀𝐌𝐄🔪🃏🥀

𝓒𝓱𝓪𝓹𝓽𝓮𝓻 1

I exhaled, my chest finally opening up, and I panicked, vigorously scrubbing away at the fabric while holding the fabric away from my skin, but the blood only seemed to come out slower as the buildings and trees surrounding me were moving faster. Soon, we passed a sign that boasted 'Creek Heights', the richest neighborhood in town, and I quickly darted my eyes to the screen in between Gianna and Quinn. 10:01 P.M. Thirty minutes ago, I thought I was dead meat. I had no idea that it would just continue to get more detrimental as the minutes went by.

"Oh God, look at them all," Gianna commented as we turned down an all-too-familiar street. I peered out the backseat window, watching the wide open gate to Dean's mansion go by while I scanned the situation. The driveway was packed full of vehicles practically stacked on top of each other, belonging to the dozens of my classmates who were clamoring and jostling in an ecstatic little army towards the gothic mansion. They were all donning red, black, and white apparel similar to the bloodstained shirt I was fighting with, and some of them turned to face the beams of my headlights. Quinn quickly ducked, tucking her head in her arms. "I think I'm gonna throw up," she groaned. "Oh my God..."

"Shh, Quinn, you're fine, everything is gonna be okay," Gianna placed one hand on Quinn's back and turned the wheel with the other, guiding my car to a halt near the bottom of the lengthy driveway. She threw her hands up once she put it in park. "Okay, you know what? I'm just gonna park here. We're athletes, we can walk." She whipped her head around, her braids twirling around her shoulders, and she flicked her sharp eyes up and down my body. "Are you decent?"

I removed the rag from my shirt one final time, realizing I'd have to settle for a blush-colored stain. Maybe if I stayed wrapped up in my letterman jacket, nobody would notice. "Hey, Marley, I'm talking to you." I heard snapping and focused my vision on Gianna's long, bright red nails in my face. I reached out and pushed her hand down, feeling my cheeks heat up in annoyance. "I'm good. Thank you." My tone was flat, but she ignored it and began gathering her things in the driver's seat. Whatever.

Suddenly, my phone buzzed, and I picked it up to see a message from Jack, my 'situationship' of sorts. The conversation the girls were having in the front slowly faded as I sunk into his text. "Hey. You on the way yet?" I bit my lip. I couldn't tell him–no, not until I had all six members of our group sitting in front of me. I scrunched my nose before I reluctantly shutting my phone off. He'd have to wait.

"Hey! Hello?! Let's go!" Gianna's voice brought me back to the moment. She was standing outside, leaning down into the car and glaring at me, dressed in her sporty Thief Creek sweatpants with the word 'LADYBIRDS' spelled down one leg. She popped her hip out sassily before shutting the Audi's door.

Quinn was patiently holding her seat down on the other side, waiting for me to climb out and join her. "You alright, Quinni?" I asked as I quickly grabbed my purse and hoisted myself out of the coupe, shutting the door as I faced her. "It's whatever...um, what's the plan again?" her voice cracked and she swallowed. "Why are we even here?" Good God, the poor thing. She looked broken, like the foundation of her entire life had just shifted below her feet, and I felt a crushing weight on my shoulders when I realized it was probably my fault. I reached out and gently placed my hands on her shoulders. "Quinn, you just go inside and find Lucas, okay?" I knew she probably wanted nothing more than to be with her relatively new boyfriend, who was to be a longstanding member of our friend group and her gateway to the Life of Marley and Co. "Gianna will take you. I'm gonna go find Jack, and then we'll go find Dean and have a talk, okay?" She nodded and I pulled her in for a hug, which I probably needed more than she did in all honesty. "We're gonna be okay, girl."

We separated after a short moment, and I bit my lip as Gianna took Quinn by the shoulders and began escorting her through the crowd. "Let's go, Marley," was her last order before they both disappeared. I heaved a sigh, my pupils fluttering to the sky for a millisecond, and made sure to lock my Audi before making my way up the black-as-obsidian bricks that paved Dean's driveway. My head was on a swivel as my classmates excitedly swarmed around me–all of them had bright smiles on their faces and vibrant energy radiating from their skin, completely oblivious to the horror that would soon face them. I felt alienated from it all, and it seemed like they could sense it. Could they see the blood? Did I put a shirt on backward? Do I have 'murderer' tattooed on my forehead? I couldn't take it. I tucked my head down, wrapped my jacket closed around my middle, and I ran.