redemption: harry styles

Chapter Fifty Six

He didn't answer, didn't yell out over the murmurs getting louder and louder, and the teachers trying to calm people down, and the principle explaining how a power surge cut off the electricity for a while. I tried to call out to Luke but he must've went looking for his date or something because he wasn't sitting where I last saw him.

I bumped into a body as I was trying to manoeuver myself from the chairs and tables, and heard someone whisper my name.

"Finn," I whispered back, "is that you?"

"Shh," he whispered as the principle actually stood up on a chair and flailed his hands around to capture everyone's attention. Finn stood in front of me, blocking all of the light so he was just a dark silhouette. His hair was messier than before. I licked my lips as I realized how unattractive I must seem with sweaty palms, because he was holding my left hand. I stepped forward to stand beside him but he threw his arm out quickly behind himself to block me. I frowned as he continued to listen intensely to the principle's apologies and a few huffs and groans around the room.

"It might take a while to find the solution," the principle was saying, "so please be seated before one of you trip--the power surge was just a hypothesis, considering the fact that it was raining a moment ago." I hadn't even realized that it was raining. It must've been the thick concrete walls.

Finn entwined our fingers and pulled me towards the other side of the room. I whipped my head back and saw Luke and Mykela caught in somebody's phone light walking the other way.

"Finn," I said and tugged at his hand, following him nonetheless, "our table is that way."

He didn't respond.

"Earth to Finn? You're going the wrong waaaay." He chuckled but continued to walk. My heart began to accelerate but I ignored it. It was just paranoia.

"Finn, I'm serious," I screamed in frustration and dug my heels into the ground. Just then, I heard Finn's voice from ten meters away.

"Where are you?" he was saying, voice faint.

My blood ran cold as the boy in front of me turned, and though nothing was illuminating my way I could feel his eyes on me. I shook my head slowly. "You're not Finn," I blurted out, instead of screaming or running and punching him in the goddamn face, it's all I had the strength to do.

"I don't understand why you're panicking," Ed's voice slithered through the dark, and he squeezed my hand, reminding me that he was holding my hand. He's, like, the second murderer to be holding my hand. With that I remembered a stupid fact where people walk past at least 7 psychopaths every day and remembered how that was absolute bullshit, but now, if you told me again, I'd probably believe you. "I'm not going to hurt you."

I screamed again and turned to dart away. Through the darkness that was thick as ink I just barely saw Ed's face harden a moment before his hand released me for only a split second. I could've sighed in relief but it was that small of a moment before he clamped down on my arm, where it stung more than usual, and slammed me into the wall. My head struck the concrete wall and tiny flecks of white crowded my vision. I closed my eyes and shook the nausea away as he leaned in and whispered softly, "You shouldn't have done that."

My stomach twisted and I felt like throwing up the second time that night. "What do you want?" I asked with a strangely confident tone. Ed took a step back.

"Just wanted to warn you," he whispered as people began to shine their flashlights and phone screens towards us, wondering what the scream was for. It took a moment for them to realize that nothing was wrong with the new student and the kidnapped girl to be having a conversation, so they turned away.